The Legend of Spyro: Psy's Journey
by TMHB77
Summary: Sequel to Gale of Darkness. The young future Chronicler must learn to hone his special abilities, while balancing other aspects of post-Malefor life with the remaining dragons of the temple. Though, not all in Avalar are content with peace...
1. Chapter 1 It Begins

**THE LEGEND OF SPYRO: PSY'S JOURNEY**

**No, your eyes do not deceive you, this is a new fic by your favorite hack writer metal! yea I said I was done but screw that when I get an idea for a fic it just nags me until I write it so here I am again. This one leaves off a couple of years after Gale of Darkness. To those who submitted OC's, they will be in the fic, but a majority wont be introduced until a couple of chapters in, save for Pleneko's and Ruriks (they got in on the ground floor when this was just an idea, so they get dibs lol) now then, the first question you may have is 'why is psy still young when spyro and the rest from GoD are adults?' in this universe the chronicler dragons age at half the rate of normal dragons like spyro. (a little deus ex maybe, but its my fic so once again, screw it.) Without further delay, heres my latest hack job!**

**CHAPTER 1-IT BEGINS**

"This sucks." Psy said tossing his homework scrolls on the floor by the door to his room as he entered and fell straight onto his bed. He exhaled deeply as he felt his chest push against the bed with his purposeful breaths. "Why couldn't another bad guy show up after Malefor?" He said to himself after rolling onto his back and staring blankly at the ceiling. Since there was no longer a realm threatening evil to combat, the now adult dragons decided the best thing for the hundred or so hatchlings they now found themselves caring for would be to educate them. This obviously wasn't very popular with the young ones. Psy cherished the brief moments he got to relax between school and his special sparring training with his dad. Psy was born with no magical elements of any kind, and when he was first discovered, the new elders weren't sure he had any powers. Then one day little Psy surprised everyone, and earned his name, by showing he had psychokinetic abilities matched only by the chronicler himself. By the time he was fourteen years old, his powers had sharpened immensely, and Spyro had no doubt Psy could beat any other dragon his age. He is destined to be the next chronicler, but for now, he lives with his adoptive parents.

Psy was snapped out of his trance by a knock at the door.

"Come in."

An adult Cynder pushed her head through the doorway.

"How was school today Psy? That bully Redge give you any trouble?"

Psy was very self reliant, and didn't really like to accept help from others if he thought he could handle it.

"He's not a bully, he's just a jerk who needs to be taught a lesson." Psy answered, knowing full well he could be the one to teach him said lesson.

Cynders face shifted to a look of concern.

"Leave the discipline to the adults Psy. You know how your father gets when fights break out. Imagine how he'd ground you if he found out his son was involved." She warned sternly.

"Ok mom..." he said sighing.

"Dinner will be as soon as dad comes home with your brother."

He nodded as she left the room.

He rolled onto his side and looked out onto the autumn afternoon and thought about his younger brother Cloud.

'He's so lucky he gets to miss school.' Psy thought. But these thoughts were quickly replaced with the reason why his brother gets to miss school, which was not fun at all.

Psy had gone to one of Clouds 'appointments' once, and he hasn't gone since...

_Flashback_

_"Are we almost there? We've been flying forever!" Psy complained along side Spyro as he carried his youngest son on his back, as this was just before Cloud learned to fly._

_"Warfang is a long way from the temple son. We're almost there."_

_"Don't be so impatient Psy!" his brother teased from behind Spyro's shoulders. He was a black dragon, with a gold underbelly, which made his name kind of ironic. His face and head structure resembled Spyro's and his tail tip was gold like his fathers but can opener shaped like his mothers. He also wore shackles around his legs and a collar made of sacred stones with weird symbols carved on them. Psy had asked why Cloud had to wear such strange looking items, and they would never give him a straight answer. He knew the collar had something to do with what they were doing now, as Cloud would sometimes come home with different colored stones replacing the old ones he had before.  
_

_He rolled his eyes and kept flying as the city's stone towers popped over the horizon. Warfang had nearly tripled in size to overflow outside the city walls and into the surrounding fields where much blood had been spilt over the years. Since lasting peace was at hand, the growth of the city ran unchecked until it became the sprawling stone metropolis they saw before them._

_'Finally' He thought as they descended to a warm Manweresmall welcome, though they were losing their majority in the city as creatures of all kinds flocked to the beacon of prosperity that was Warfang._

_The grandson of the professor was Clouds main reason for being here, though Psy still had no idea why. Maybe his brother was sick?_

_They landed and Spyro greeted Doc (like the professor, he goes by his title)._

_"Nice to see you again Elder Spyro." He said as he looked over to Cloud, who was now clinging to his fathers hind leg shyly._

_"We...dont have to...do...that thing today...do we?" he asked with obvious fear in his voice._

_'Do what?.' Psy thought as he followed his father and brother into a large stone building._

_"I'm afraid so Cloud, I'll get it done as fast as I can, I promise." Doc answered._

_They stopped at two large double doors that stood as tall as Spyro._

_"Psy, this wont take long. Wait out here and I'll come get you when we're done ok?"_

_"Why cant I go with you?" Psy asked rather annoyed that he flew all this way to wait in a room._

_"Because...Cloud just needs a little privacy is all."_

_"Then why are you going in there?" Psy countered, determined to get to the bottom of why his brother has to make this trip every two weeks, and why Cloud always came home sleeping and was put right to bed upon arrival._

_"Because I'm the dad Psy." _

_"You always say that! What is the matter with my brother! I think I deserve to know if its something that requires him to come here every two weeks!" he snapped, getting aggravated at Spyro for treating him like a child when he fought along side him in the biggest battle the planet had ever seen._

_Spyro turned to Cloud and Doc and said_

_"Go ahead in, I'll join you shortly."_

_He turned back to Psy and knelt down to his eye level with a heavy sigh._

_"Psy...when your brother was born...there were a few unintended side effects of mine and Cynders...having Cloud. You see, when your mother had defeated the darkness in her soul, it was expelled from her heart, but traces of it still resided within her, undetected. When she laid your brother, he looked like a normal egg, nothing out of the ordinary. When he hatched however, we realized that Cloud would be a bit different."_

_Psy was hanging on his fathers every word, nodding and waiting for him to keep talking as though his life depended on it._

_"The shell of the egg began to crack one morning, so I woke your mother and we watched as the first little piece chipped off. But when it did, out of the shell came a beam of dark energy that crashed right through the roof and into the sky. It was fortune that the beam did not strike me or your mother. We looked back at the egg and saw your little brother writhing in pain as more dark energy shot from his mouth with every breath in between his cries."_

_"So...that wasn't a shooting star that fell through our roof? I knew it!" Psy interjected during his fathers pause._

_"Yes, it was a pretty ill-conceived lie, and I'm sorry we had to lie to you Psy, but you were young and we thought you would treat him differently if you found out about his...condition. Anyway, I cast a spell of holding and froze him in a time bubble. Cynder and I took Cloud to Warfang to seek the aid of the professors grandson, Doc. We kept him in Warfang for weeks while he tried to figure out why dark energy tortured him at all times he was not in my spell of holding. Eventually we found out that Cynders body had pushed the remaining darkness out of her body, unfortunately, it was passed directly into Cloud through his laying. It bound to him at birth, and now as his power grows, so too does the power of the dark passenger within him. She very nearly couldn't handle the guilt, but you and I helped her through that tough time, as you remember. The collar and clamps he wears are blessed with light and all support each other in keeping his dark passenger under control and your brother pain free."_

_Spyro leaned into his sons ear and with a grave voice that nearly scared Psy to death he said:_

_"However, as his brother I expect you to look after him. Under absolutely NO circumstances are you to ever remove his collar. Not even if he asks or begs you too, understand? NEVER REMOVE HIS COLLAR." he repeated the last line just to be sure he got that fact through._

_Psy nodded, a new respect for his little brother rising within him._

_"Wow...I thought he was just a little weak...but... dark energy?" Psy said softly as his father stood to his full height._

_"And now you know. Do not tell your mother I told you Clouds...condition. This goes without saying that this is a family secret." he said in the normal voice Psy had grown up with._

_"Yea...nobody will know, I promise." Psy said as his dad went in the double doors where the others had already entered. He caught a glimpse of what was inside said room and it nearly drained the color from his scales. His brother was restrained on a huge metal table, with not only physical bonds but also elemental bonds as well. For a brief second, he locked eyes with his brother, whose expression matched Psy's, one of fear. The door closed but it did little to hide whatever was going on inside. He heard his brothers voice cry out in pain, and then what sounded like furious anger from an unknown source as purple flashes illuminated the space between the door and the floor, he heard the crackles and arcing of raw elemental power that was his fathers might. The light from under the door then changed to a variety of colors as he heard the muffled voices of Spyro, Doc and his assistants. After a few more minutes of flashing lights, everything went quiet. A few minutes later, Spyro exited the room, holding a sleeping Cloud in his arms. Psy noticed the stones were now a different color, if they were the same stones at all. _

_"Ready to go?" His father asked. Psy nodded and jumped up off the bench he was sitting on and they left Warfang as quickly as they'd come._

"Hey Psy! You have fun at _school_ today?"

He rolled over and saw that Cloud was in his room. Without knocking. Again.

"Shut up Cloud."

"Aww, are you jealous that I got the day off?" he asked trying to get a rise out of his brother. As he grew older, Cloud could manage to stay awake for longer periods after his 'appointments', which was a mixed blessing for Psy.

"Ha, not hardly. I'll take school over having to wear that gay necklace all day." He said getting the best of his younger brother immediately, the way only an older sibling could.

"Its NOT a necklace! And mom and dad said you weren't supposed to make fun of it!" he snapped. He was at the age where crying or throwing a tantrum was not an option, yet not old or tough enough to get physical with Psy and win. Though this didn't normally stop him from trying.

"They also said you arent supposed to be in my room without KNOCKING!"

Cloud growled, he knew Psy had him there.

"Whatever, dinners ready." He said leaving for the eating room. Since Spyro had become Fire Guardian he was allowed a separate wing of the temple for himself and his family, unlike the other young dragons who had seemed to come out of the woodwork since Malefors defeat. They each shared a room with another dragon of the same sex as space was tight, and the elders obviously didn't need any new hatchlings running around. This perceived privilege often caused Psy and his brother some trouble with bullies. The fact that he got his own room was huge to the other dragons, who in some cases slept 3 to a room while the temple was being expanded to accommodate all the newcomers.

After a filling dinner with his family, Psy left the temple to catch the last few rays of daylight before nightfall.

"Hey Psy!"

A familiar voice from behind him called from a distance. He turned to see his friend Januz walking briskly towards him with a few books clutched around his tail, careful to avoid the many spikes on the end of it.

Januz was quite the contrast to Psy's self reliant, and rarely fiery temper. He was a genius, to put it bluntly, and most of his time was spent snout deep in books. His light charcoal scales and grey wings accentuated the fact that he spent a lot of time indoors, and the four white horns extending from his head reminded Psy of his mothers.

"Hi Januz! Are you just now getting done with that extra homework Nero gave you?"

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad. He says that I could be the next great draconian scholar! Apparently we haven't had one of those for a while. Whats new with you?"

They started walking toward the residence wing of the temple in search of the third member of their group.

"Not much. I cant be out long, I still have to finish all the homework Flame assigned, and whatever dad wants me to do afterwards. Can you believe that? My own father giving me extra work!"

"C'mon, it cant be that bad." Januz said, which was quickly countered by a slight glare from Psy seeming to say 'are you serious? Its hard as hell!'.

"So I hear our buddy Zyrnoth got a new fish tank. Want to go check it out?" Januz said changing the subject.

"Yeah, lets go pay our goldfish friend a visit." Psy said as they both chuckled and entered the temple.

**no, zyrnoth is not a goldfish, he's ruriks oc. the next update comes 1/8/2010**


	2. Chapter 2 Schoolyard Scrap

**Thanks all for sticking with me and continuing to read my nonsense! I hope you all enjoy a touch of action in...**

**CHAPTER 2- SCHOOLYARD SCRAP**

The duo walked toward the temple and entered. The hall was crowded with dragons as the residential halls for the other dragons like Januz were severely...overbooked, shall we say.

"You guys should really do something about these crowds." Psy said sarcastically.

"Screw you. Not everyone gets to live in Elder Spyro's house." Januz responded with a slight smile as they entered the room he and Zyrnoth shared, a strong odor of saltwater greeting them as they opened the door.

In the room there was a normal sized bed, but in the opposite corner, sat a dragon in a large leaky tank filled with salt water. Inside sat a sleeping dragon at the bottom of the tank. He was a dark blue scaled dragon that had gills on his neck. He had branch-like coral horns with seaweed and other underwater vegetation either wrapping around or growing from them. This stretched to his wings and tail. The wings were made of a membrane that attached to his back; despite this, they allowed him to fly with ease. Or they would have if his right wing didn't have a large tear that started an inch from the wing bone and all the way down to the edge of the membrane.

"He would be asleep." Januz said as he and Psy walked to the edge of the tank. Januz and Zyrnoth had been friends since they arrived at the temple. Zyrnoth was ostracized from the other dragons upon his arrival, as he was the only water dragon any of them had ever seen. Januz too was a bit of an outcast, as he was born with the same curse as Psy's little brother, though markedly less intense. He felt the stigma of his powers for years throughout his childhood, so he normally maintains that he is a wind dragon if questioned by someone other than his close friends, but even they don't know the nature of his true element.

"Wake up Z!" Psy said, Zyrnoth hearing the distorted sound through his watery tank.

The water dragon lazily floated to the surface and opened his amber eyes.

"Hey guys! Whats up?"

"Just walking around. You want to go swim some laps at dragon shores?" Psy asked.

"Heck yeah, this tank isn't big enough for me by a long shot." He said swimming up and out of the tank with a flip, getting both Psy and Januz wet.

"Thanks..." Psy said as he wiped the water off himself.

The trio walked out of the crowded building and had almost made it to the door when they were accosted by one of the older and larger dragons that had come to the temple since the Great Migration (The time after the fall of Malefor in which dragon kind emerged from hiding).

Though he was only one year their elder, the black and red dragon that stood before them was quite bigger than all three of them.

"Toll to pass children." he said grinning menacingly.

"Blow it out your ass Redge." Psy replied as his friends stood beside him, waiting for the bully to move out of the way, yet the standoff continued.

"You want I should move? Why don't you make me puny dragon." He said in his thick Northern (Russian) accent.

The way the larger dragon was standing, leaning against the doorway but still managing to block it all with himself. There was no way Psy could take this guy without his powers, and even if all three of them attacked him it would still be a toss up. Not to mention how angry his father would be if he found out he got into a fight.

'This has gone on long enough.' Psy thought as he focused his mind on the door frame the large dragon leaned against and in an instant, the wood cracked and Redge lost his balance and hit the ground, knocking himself out cold to the uproarious laughter of everyone who saw what happened.

Psy smiled and he and his friends walked through the previously guarded door.

"Can you believe that fat idiot knocked _himself_ out?" Zyrnoth said as they neared the beach.

"Nope. Glad he's as clumsy as he is huge." Psy said. Not even his best friends knew about his gift, his destiny, or his slow aging.

Psy had kept his powers a secret from his friends on Spyro's orders. Psy could understand why him flaunting his mental abilities would be a bad thing. The last thing he needed was to be seen as even more different by his peers. It was already common knowledge around the temple that Psy's element hadn't 'shown' itself yet, which sometimes made him and his friends a target for dragons like Redge.

"Last one in sucks!" Januz said flapping his wings twice to gain about 20 feet of altitude before diving into the Great Sea.

They stayed until the sunset and started walking the trail back to the temple.

The trio were in conversation when they heard a rustle from the shrubs ahead, then their hearts collectively skipped a beat.

"So you think you can humiliate me in front of whole temple and get away?"

Redge had them cornered and alone, and he didn't look happy.

They stayed silent, this wasnt like in the temple, where there were witnesses...

"You're the one who fell, we had nothing to do with it!" Zyrnoth said finding his voice.

"Is that so? Door was not cracked when I first leaned against it. You all did something, I don't know how, but I know you did. Now you will pay!"

Redge struck like lightning for someone his size, and sent two earth blasts toward Januz and Zyrnoth and they took them each to the face, knocking them out before they hit the ground.

"What the hell Redge! You could have killed them!" Psy said as he checked to make sure they were still breathing. The small cuts and bruises on his friends faces infuriated him, and this wasn't the first time Redge had attacked them. His friends injuries brought about a feeling he sometimes remembered getting as a child under the Chronicler when he wouldn't get his way. Another voice, though it was his, at the same time, it was not. A challenger to Psy's normally calm and generally nice demeanor. A pattern of thoughts that sometimes scared him with the things it suggested. Now Psy's own dark secret fought to be free, anger being its best tool to rise to the surface. It had been years since Psy had heard the voice, but this time it would not be silenced.

'He hurt those you care about. Punish him. You must. This urge can't be ignored, it will only grow stronger until you satiate it. Make him feel the pain of battle, of the death of loved ones, of the horridly macabre visions you have witnessed during the fight against the darkness! Transfer your pain onto him. Ensure he bleeds.'

"I wouldn't worry about them, so much as whats going to happen to you." he said charging up another earth shot.

Psy stood up and felt his fists tightening in anger as the bully took a step forward to ensure a hit.

'They're out cold...no one will believe Redge right?' he thought as he seriously considered doing something he knew Spyro would have his head over. The will of the voice would not be ignored.

"Ok Redge, take your best shot you filthy snowback!" Psy snapped back, trying hard not to grin as he knew he could take him.

(Snowback: noun, something you dont want to call a dragon from the northern territories.)

The large dragon let out a guttural roar at Psy's use of the racial slur.

"Thats it! Now you really feel my power!" he said firing a much stronger earth shot than either of his friends received. He nearly didn't recognize its strength as he threw up a barrier between himself and Redge and the elemental attack broke over Psy's shield, though not letting Psy escape the concussion of the blast. It gave him a headache, but otherwise he came out unscathed. He could hear Redge's thick accent as he laughed, thinking he had blown the young dragon away as the smoke had not yet cleared. His laughter was cut off as Psy stood defiant in the same place he stood before, maybe a few inches back where his feet had slid holding his line against the big dragons attack.

"What? I hit you in chest!"

"I guess it wasn't strong enough. Did you forget I fought Malefor before coming here? Now its my turn." Psy said with an unintentional smirk on his face, similar to the one his father used to get when he knew victory was assured.

Redge recoiled slightly in horror at the mention of the actual name of the former dark master, but his moment of panic was quickly erased when he remembered something everyone knew about Psy. He had no element!

"Really? And what are you going to do to me without element?"

"I was hoping you would be that stupid." Psy said as he pointed at a large oak branch above him and it removed itself from the tree, and floated between them as Redge watched, mouth agape in awe.

He twisted his wrist until his paw was pointed to the sky. The branch reacted to his motions by sheering all its leaves and twigs off, forming a sizable bat.

Psy pulled his right forepaw behind his left shoulder, which drew the bat back a couple of feet, ready to give Redge the beating he so richly deserved.

Then he heard the voice of the one dragon he was afraid of.

"PSY! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

His heart went to his stomach.

'I am so screwed.' He thought slowly turning around and dropping the stick from his minds grasp, the voice now evaporating from his mind now that his concentration had been broken.

Spyro came quickly through the woods and grabbed Psy by the horn.

"Ow! Dad!"

"Don't you 'dad' me! You are in so much trouble!" Spyro said before turning to face the other side of the conflict.

"Redge, did you do this?" he said referring to the two unconscious young dragons beside Psy, his horn still painfully in his fathers paw.

Spyro then grabbed Redge in the same way dragged them both under a large oak tree.

"You two do not move until I tell you. Understand?"

"Yes sir..." they both said in every youngster's monotone they used when they were in trouble.

Spyro went to tend to Psy's unconscious friends, which gave Redge and Psy time to exchange a few choice words.

"Thats how you tripped me! You have some kind of power to make things move on their own! I knew something was wrong with you the moment I first punched you." He said

"Shut up Redge, this isn't over." Psy snapped.

Spyro held a red gem over the two dragons and their eyes fluttered to life after a few seconds.

"Oh my god my head..." Januz said holding it with his right paw.

Zyrnoth focused and realized it was none other than Spyro himself standing over him.

"E-elder Spyro!" he said scrambling to a seated position beside Januz. Every dragon had immense respect for Spyro, as they all knew of his legend, and the legend of the other older dragons. To the young ones it was almost like being addressed by a god.

"Easy young one. You took quite a knock." He said.

"What happened Elder Spyro?" Januz asked.

"Hm...I was hoping the two of you could tell me." He said turning to the two dragons sitting under the tree, neither daring to move.

"What happened?" Spyro asked.

"Redge attacked us!"

"After Psy used his...his...magic powers on me!" Redge shouted in his defense.

Spyro simply sighed and gave Psy a sharp glare before making a small brown bag appear in his hand as he walked back over to the tree.

"Hold still Redge." he said as he pinched a bit of powder between his claws and blew it in his face.

He coughed once and then promptly passed out, slumping over against the tree.

"You two, here now." Spyro snapped as Psy's two friends hurriedly ran to Spyro's side.

Spyro reached in his little bag and realized he was out of amnesia powder.

'Looks like you two get off easy' Spyro thought.

"I'm taking Redge to the infirmary. He's clearly sick if he thinks Psy has some kind of magic power. Psy, you'd better be in my chamber by the time I get back, and you two!" He said whipping his head around to Psy's buddies, they jumped in surprise.

"Get back to the temple, and do not take any detours. Understand?"

"Yes sir!" They said in unison as Spyro flew off with Redge. Januz had some questions for Psy concerning what happened to make his head hurt so badly, but didn't dare disobey Elder Spyro and left immediately.

"See you later guys..." Psy said sadly. He knew he was in BIG trouble.

"See ya Psy!" They said as they hurried away from the woods and back to the temple. Even Psy's friends were afraid of Spyro.

**Chapter 2 down! Looks like Psy has broken rule number one! and Spyro is none too happy! Chapter 3 on the 18th!**


	3. Chapter 3 The Indigo Blues

**CHAPTER 3 -THE INDIGO BLUES**

**chapter 3 in the building! sorry for this being a bit late, yesterday was my buddies bday and we went out drinking tequila. nuff said.**

Psy closed his eyes as he glided over the parks and courtyards of the temple complex grounds, contemplating what terrible fate Spyro had in store for him as punishment for breaking his and Psy's number one rule. Never use your powers in public. And what of the voice? Psy called it The Other when he was a child, but it only spoke to him when he was furious. As a hatchling he was rarely ever that angry. But it was so loud and clear this time, for the first time! He couldn't deny the influence it had on his choice to retaliate against Redge, and that is what made him uneasy. Going with what it suggested seemed so right, but what if it ever suggested something else? Something not right? Something evil?

'No. I'm not evil, so neither are my thoughts. Besides...I'm in control of my own mind and body!' He reasoned.

Though the wind was the loudest noise he could hear, intermittent bursts of music floated across his mind from below.

He opened his eyes just in time to see a flock of geese about three feet ahead of him, with no chance of avoidance.

"Ahhhh-!" His cry was cut short as the lead goose nearly flew down his throat. Their V formation was shattered as the other geese came to the aid of the one in Psy's mouth, sending him falling out of the sky.

The impact of the ground caused him to spit out the goose, and they went on their way, leaving only Psy's demolished dignity in their wake. He stood up and brushed himself off, catching the shape of four young dragons about his age with native eastern dragon instruments, eyes all locked on him.

"You all saw that huh?" He asked, to which they responded with a couple of seconds of uproarious laughter. There was a female dragon without any instrument who seemed to be the front woman.

"Yeah, we saw it." She said stepping closer to him. She was Psy's height, and oddly enough had the same color eyes as he. She had dark blue scales and a pink underbelly, not an uncommon combination for an eastern dragon. Her horns weren't sharp like Psy's, but more like reindeer horns in that they looked more like sticks than horns.

Her bandmates began whispering in another language to each other and laughing behind them.

"They have something to say?" he asked, knowing he was being made fun of.

"Maybe, but you wouldn't like it. And they don't speak Draconian, only Erwae." (Erwae: Native language of the eastern tribes)

"Although..." She said producing a wooden flute from between her wings and practiced her claw placement while she spoke to him. She was unusually calm around him, as Psy was a very polarizing figure around the temple. Either loved or hated, but he was rarely a middle or indifferent to a soul like hers. He was intrigued to say the least.

"I'm surprised you can say anything considering how much of that goose you almost swallowed." She said with a teasing grin.

Thinking quickly, Psy countered with

"Well that was partly your fault. Your music distracted me."

"Is that right? It looked like you flying with your eyes closed was what caused your little mishap to me." She said, still practicing away on he flute as she talked.

Psy thought, but he was out of witty responses, and just kind of stood there.

"It's O.K. Psy, your secrets safe with me."

"Heh, thanks I...How'd you know my name?"

"C'mon. The son of the head elder? Everyone at least knows who you are. More than you might think." She said casting a flirtatious eye his way before heading back to her bandmates.

'Say something Psy! She's cute and you know it! Talk!' He shouted to himself in his head.

"W-whats the name of your band?" He asked

'Seriously? Whats the name of your band?' He thought

She stopped and turned her head over her shoulder.

"The Indigo Blues. We're playing in the courtyard tonight around high moon (midnight)."

"High moon? How do you get away with that without waking any elders? They're pretty strict about the curfew..."

"I guess you should come by and see for your self." She said.

Thats when Psy remembered where he was going in the first place. Nothing could clear Psy's mind faster than the face of a pretty lady.

"Uh...dont count on it, I've..."

'You're what? Grounded? I cant say that, I'll sound like a child!' He thought, considering his next words carefully.

"...Got a lot of homework."

"Thats too bad. Later then."

Psy flew away back to his house. He had gotten halfway there before he realized he hadn't gotten her name.

"A lot of homework...I need a writer..." He said landing on the small balcony to his room.

Judging by the relative quiet in his house he figured he had still beat his father home, even with his unscheduled detour.

He walked into his room and closed the balcony doors and slumped against them in resignation. Spyro was going to work him over at training today, but not before what ever he has in store for him in his chamber.

"Where have you been Psy?"

"WAA! Mom! You're not supposed to shadow yourself in here!" He said surprised to see his mothers head sticking through his closed door.

"Sorry sweetie I didn't think you were home."

"Its ok...We just went to the shores for a swim is all..." He said.

"Really? Your father sounded pretty upset about something. Are you sure that was all that happened?" She asked. A mother knows her sons poker face.

Psy looked up at his mother and made eye contact, which made Cynder sharply glare at him and say

"Psy! You know its rude to try and read your parents thoughts! Dont make this worse for yourself!"

"Sorry mom...I just wanted to see what you knew..."

Cynders glare broke into a smile as she drew her son into her embrace.

"Its O.K. Psy, I know it's hard to hide whats really inside you." She whispered to him as he returned her motherly hug.

'You have no idea.' He thought as he hearkened back to the voice's sudden reappearance.

"I'll talk to your father and see if I can get him to take it easy on you." She said leaving his room.

"Thanks mom..." He said as he awaited his fathers arrival. He felt like a prisoner in his own room. Waiting for his sentence to be carried out but having no idea when it would come. This was punishment enough as far as he was concerned. Then he heard a heavy thud outside. His dad had just landed. Psy walked out of his room and down the hallway to Spyro's study chamber. Cloud was in the hallway taunting him with 'Oooooooooohhhh you're in trouble!' but he paid no attention to his little brother as he took the long walk to his fate.

He opened the door and looked around his dad's study, someplace that was normally off limits to he and Cloud.

Lots of odds and ends displayed behind glass cases. Trophy's from Spyro's heroics of days gone by. Some of which he recognized: Austins gun Julia (Though he could swear he was buried with it...), a piece of rubble from the dark tower Spyro destroyed Malefor on top of, a piece of what he assumed was his egg shell, and a heart shaped locket that seemed really familiar, though he couldn't place it right away, along with numerous other artifacts.

He drew closer to it but was startled when he heard the door close.

"That was Ember's locket." Spyro said, not at all in the angry tone Psy had expected.

"Whos?"

"Nevermind, just an old friend of mine you don't remember meeting." He said taking a seat on the large cushion behind his imposing marble desk with scrolls scattered all over it.

"Sit down son."

Psy took a seat in front of his father, hoping that his mothers words had somehow calmed Spyro down.

"You're getting older Psy. Not as fast as your friends are, but you can do nothing to change that. However, with age comes responsibility. You know you were not to use your abilities in public, much less to attack another student! Yet you disobeyed my orders to protect your friends from Redge AND THAT MY BOY" He said raising his voice and leaning over his desk closer to his sons ear whispered "Is exactly what I hoped you would do."

Psy's head felt as though it was going to explode. After all these years of constantly telling him to tell others his element hasn't come along yet (much to his embarrassment) and threatening on pain of being grounded for the rest of his life if he ever used his powers in public, now he says he wanted him to all along?

"What?"

"That's right Psy, I'm not going to punish you. You did the right thing in defending your friends and yourself. You remind me of myself at your age." He said in a way only a father reflecting on the pride he felt in his son could.

"You mean you think I can save the world and be the most-" Psy began.

"Actually I was referring to the disobeying orders part. You definitely inherited that from me."

"Oh..." Psy answered as his excited expression dropped.

"You dont need me telling you that you can save the world. You fought along side me and your mom against the most powerful being in the world! And won!" He said as his sons mood was gradually revived.

"Now, since Januz and Zyrnoth are here so often I might as well adopt them too-"

"Really?" Psy interjected, excited by the very idea of living with his best friends.

"No, that was a joke. Anyway, I've decided to allow you to reveal your...secret to them, if you would like."

"But... isn't that against the Code?"

"I know trustworthy dragons when I see them Psy. The decision is yours. Now then, get Cloud and meet me in the training room.

"Aww does he _have_ to watch me train?" Psy groaned indignantly.

"Oh he's not watching, today is his first day of training with dad. You were his age when I started with you."

"Dad are you ready yet?" Cloud said bursting through the door at that exact moment.

"This is gonna suck..." Psy mumbled under his breath. The time he spent with Spyro training was the only time he got to spend alone with his father and now Cloud is invited.

"What was that Psy?" Spyro asked, though he heard him quite clearly.

"Nothing...lets go."

He wanted to talk to his dad about The Other voice, but after his dad just told him how proud he was...what if he thought he was crazy? The Chronicler said only those of sound mind could take on his role! What if all he had seen since a young age was finally warping his mind? Creating a malignant voice that was not his own! His thoughts were interrupted as they came to the door.

Once in the training room, Cloud could barely contain himself. He _finally_ gets to train with his dad and big brother Psy! He had only been allowed to observe up until this point, which made this all the more exciting. The young dragon couldn't wait to see what his dad and brother would think of his elemental power, which he had secretly been practicing.

"Whats first dad?" He said almost bouncing off the walls.

"Stretching. Get limbered up and warm up your flamethrower." Spyro said as he did as he instructed.

Cloud's dark passenger wasnt the only anomaly he received from birth. Since both his parents could control multiple elements, he also appeared to be able to practice both fire and electricity.

After warm ups, the real training began.

"Cloud, I'll need to asses your abilities so I know where to start your training." Spyro said.

"Ok, do you want me to fight some dummies or something?"

"No, only first hand experience will do. Attack me." Spyro answered as he charged his fire element, small fires randomly breaking out all over him, such was the extent of his power and mastery of the elements he controlled.

Clouds eyes widened in disbelief. He turned to look at Psy, but was met by his brother looking rather unconcerned.

"This is what you wanted isn't it? To train with me and dad?" Psy said nonchalantly.

Cloud nervously turned back to face his father, now practically on fire, though Spyro was unharmed beneath the flames.

"Come on Cloud! I need to see how strong you are!" Spyro said with a look of boyish excitement on his face, finally being able to flex his elemental muscle after a long day of work.

The young black dragon nervously shot a fireball towards his father only to have it batted away like it was nothing.

"C'mon Cloud! You're of purple blood, I know you are stronger than that! Get angry Cloud, or I'll start hitting back!"

Spyro knew he had to draw out his sons true power. He remembered how he had first used his element in combat. Fear for his life brought it out, and allowed him to hone it, and so perceived fear will do it for Cloud.

"B-B-But I don't want to fight you dad!" Cloud stammered as tears began to form.

Spyro realized there was only one thing that would bring out his sons hidden strength. One huge fireball. He blocked out the fact that Cynder would literally kill him if she saw what he was about to do to her firstborn. Unfortunately for him she had quietly shadowed through a wall to observe just as Spyro readied his attack.

"Here it comes, you better get ready Cloud!" Spyro launched a fire comet about double his sons size speeding towards him. Cloud had only seconds to react. He heard his fathers words echoing him to 'get angry'. He thought of the most anger inducing thought he could, then opened his eyes and cast a ball of fire around him that absorbed his fathers, making it explode, even blowing Psy off his feet as Cloud let out a roar.

'I knew he could handle that!' Spyro thought just as he felt a sharp pain hit the back of his head, followed by shouting in his ear.

"Spyro have you lost your mind? That was way too much for his first time! I cant believe you would be so reckless as to-" Spyro rubbed his head as Cynder comforted her crying son, her words being blocked out by his headache.

Soon Cynder stormed out with Cloud and left only Psy and Spyro.

"Wow...Did you see how big that blast was?" He said to his dad running over from the corner he'd been thrown in from the heat.

"Yes. He's my son alright."

"Bet you wish mom had let him stay huh?"

"Actually we got farther than I thought she would allow. Now lets get to work. You did break the code, and for that there are consequences."

"What? But you said it was a lesson! And that I passed!"

"Thats true, and you did pass. The extra work is part of the lesson." Spyro said with his usual smirk.

**Until next time! see ya!**


	4. Chapter 4 Warfangs Underworld

CHAPTER 4 WARFANG'S UNDERWORLD

**Ok here's chapter 4! **

Psy lay flat on his bed, every muscle in his body ached and demanded that he sleep the pain off. But that wasn't what he was going to do tonight. For some reason, the invitation the mysterious dragoness from earlier that day beckoned him to the courtyard where they were playing that night. He peeked out of his room to check for his parents, though it had been couple of hours since his father and Cloud went to bed, but the problem was his mom Cynder.

He heard her moving about in the den, which put a damper on his plans of sneaking out and coming back unnoticed.

"Does she ever sleep?" He said to himself as he tried to think of a way to solve this dilemma.

He stepped out of his room and approached his mom casually.

"Night mom." He said, turning back to his room.

"Goodnight Psy." She continued tidying up the main room.

Psy walked back to his room and closed the door with his tail.

He arranged his cushions on the bed to give the appearance that he had covered himself with his sheets, walked out to his balcony, and took one last look back at his darkened room. He climbed to the ledge, stepped off and hung in mid-air, his wings unmoved from his back. Using his powers, Psy slowly floated down to the ground (about twenty feet).

Instead of walking, he hovered inches off the ground until he was a considerable distance away, such was his fear of getting caught. He made the journey to the courtyard and oddly enough didn't hear any music. He had heard it before he saw it last time, and began to wonder if he had just been lied to.

As he turned the corner expecting to see an empty courtyard, he saw just the opposite. The girl he recognized from earlier was on a makeshift stage as were her band mates, and it seemed like every dragon in the temple was packed into the rather small area. The thing that struck Psy was that the band was clearly playing, and the crowd was cheering, but he couldn't hear anything. Then he noticed an almost translucent bubble around the entire courtyard, and saw a couple of dragons around the edges supplying the energy for the sound shield. He walked through the barrier and was greeted by the noise he expected. He walked through the crowd to try and find his friends and spotted the back of Zyrnoth's head.

"Hey Zy!" he shouted over the music.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see you out here!" Zy turned and greeted him with a smile.

"Yeah, because you guys didn't tell me this stuff happens at night!" Psy ignored the comment about the parents, simply nodding.

"Well, you never asked…" Zy looked down at his claws.

"Your parents know you're here?" he added.

"Obviously not! You think my dad would let me out of the house after training? You know him better than that!"

"True. Congratulations on sneaking out!"

"Where's Januz?" Psy asked, to which Zyrnoth pointed to one of the dragons crowd surfing.

"Oh hey Psy!" Januz said from atop the group of dragons supporting him.

"Dude, what are you doing up there?" Psy asked.

"Are you kidding? I LIVE for this stuff! Pass me to the mosh pit!" He commanded as he was passed away from his friends.

"I've never seen Januz like that before."

"He's strange like that. My money says he's a touch unbalanced in the head…" The water dragon started to explain before trailing off as Psy caught eyes with the mysterious lead singer of the band.

'I wonder what she thinks about me...' He thought as he focused on her thoughts.

'Don't you think we should hang out more before you go poking around in my mind?'

Psy's jaw nearly fell off.

'Y-you...you...can...'

'That's right. Years of practice under the eastern monks. My name is Sharia by the way.'

She gave him a subtle wink and he turned five shades of red almost instantly. She just smiled and kept on singing, their performance lasting well into the early morning before those holding up the sound barrier were exhausted.

A manweresmall sat behind a large wooden desk in a dim, smoke filled office lit by a single torch on a wall near the entrance. He was actually quite large for his species, and wore a green sport coat and tie. His pipe sat in a holder on the desk, a small wisp of smoke rising from it and dissipating as it reached a few feet in the air, adding to the haze. He had on thick spectacles as he hunched over his papers, examining one in his left hand, and the one in his right. He looked back and forth between them before calling into the air:

"Puff! Get in here!"

After a few seconds, the clicks of claws on the marble flooring echoed through the air as the door slammed open and an annoyed green and white dragon strode in.

"What? I only get two days off from this crap and this is one of those precious few. So. what. Do. You want?" He asked impatiently, slamming his front paws on his desk.

"I got a late contract. Need you to collect."

"There's no one else who can do this?"

"Nope. 10,000 gems take it or leave it."

Puff grabbed the scroll from the manweresmall and scanned it, his light blue eyes darting back and forth across the page until it settled on the payment. He knew he needed the money, but he had a date tonight with a really cute dragon from across the street.

"15,000 and I'll do it."

"No! That's-"

"I'm canceling a date for this! 15,000 or I walk and wine and dine the dime from across the street like I intended, and you can drag your fat ass over there and rough him up yourself!"

There was silence for a brief moment, but the mob boss relented.

"Fine. Just get the job done."

"Don't worry, I always do." He said walking out of the room, taking the scroll with the targets picture with him.

"Filthy lizard scum."

After about two hours (and after canceling his evening plans) Puff climbed onto the roof of his apartment building in a black robe and black hood with nothing but his eyes showing. A sharp cold wind went through the thin fabric right to his bones.

"Geez it is way to cold for this outfit! Ugh I knew I should have gone on that date!" He said spreading his wings and gliding in the direction of his target.

After a few minutes of flight, he found the address he was looking for and silently descended upon the darkened street, as it was now around midnight.

Puff ducked into a dark alley and produced the scroll from earlier.

"Hmmm...Name, Blantius height, four two, species manweresmall...shouldn't be too hard." He said tucking the parchment away in his assassins robes and made his way up the side of the stone wall to the third story where he entered through a door that had been left open by a careless security guard, he assumed.

He sprinted silently though the hall until he came to the right address. He knocked on the door and then hid, waiting for his target to answer.

After a few seconds, he knocked again, louder this time, but to no response from within.

'He must be out pissing away more money.' Puff thought as he looked down each end of the long hallway to make sure no one would see him pick the lock to room 113.

After he gained entry he remarked to himself about the squalor this guy seemed to call home.

"Oh my god; look at this place! Whoever decorated in here is definitely not in heaven right now."

"But you're about to be!"

Puff whipped his head around just in time to dodge a crossbow bolt aimed for his head.

"No you did NOT just try to attack me!" He said reaching into his robes and flinging throwing knives at his attacker, who happened to be his target. He was a regular sized manweresmall who's stubble and stench indicated he had drank his share of ale.

The knives pierced his flesh and pinned him against the wall. It was by no means a lethal wound, but enough to hold him in place and make him drop the crossbow.

In almost one step he was right next to the wounded mole and put his forepaw against his throat, lifting the much smaller mole into the air as Puff removed his blade.

"Ahhh-" Puff put the other forepaw over the moles mouth.

"I was going to let you off with a warning, but if you try anything like that again I'll be eating manweresmall for dinner tonight! Now you have seventy two hours to get Marchino his gems, or the next time you see me, it'll be the last thing you ever see!" Puff took out another blade and cut both of Blantius' palms, deep. It took everything the mole had not to scream out in pain, but Puff wasn't exactly allowing him to breathe in the first place.

"Next time, it'll be more than just a cut. Luckily for you I have other things to take care of tonight." he released his forearm from his throat.

Puff produced another contract scroll with a younger female dragon depicted on it.

"Looks like you've got a date with Marchino young lady..." He said to himself as he strode from the apartment.

The mole slumped to the floor holding both his wounded hands close as he looked up to face his attacker, but he was gone.

"Psy! Wake up! You'll be late for school!"

His eyes fluttered open and he recognized his mother's voice. He looked out the window and saw the sun was almost past the treetops!

"Oh man, this is what I get for going out so late!" He said as he hurried and gathered up his scrolls and literally jumped out the window on his way to the temple. The empty courtyard was testament to how late he was.  
"Elder Flame is gonna kill me!" He said landing and sprinting toward the main double door.

He continued his run to the end of the hall where Flames combat tactics class was held.

"Sorry I'm late Elder Flame I..." He had burst through the door but didn't realize that the room was empty.

"Huh...This is new...where is everyone?" He said to himself as he slowly backed out of the room. He walked down the hallway and realized all the classrooms were deserted.

Psy deduced that there must have been an assembly called by the elders, and it must have been important because class is practically never canceled.

He walked into the main hall and sure enough, just about every dragon and dragoness was packed into the large cathedral like room.

Psy silently snuck into one of the side doors and joined the crowd.

"What's going on?" he asked one of the dragons he recognized from his tactics class.

"Emergency assembly. Dunno what for though." he said.

After a few minutes, his father walked out in front of all the students and a hush fell over the room.

"Students... one of our own has gone missing. Last night, Vera of the Eastern tribes vanished from her room. As of now, the temple is on lockdown, no dragon under the age of 25 years is allowed outside the temple grounds unless accompanied by an elder."

A collective groan and some shouts of protest greeted Spyro's ears as he calmed the crowd.

"The security will be lifted as soon as she is located, but until that time, anyone caught disobeying this order will receive the most harsh punishment possible. Classes are to resume as normal. Dismissed." He said as he left the stage.

"Great, the one dragoness I meet who has things in common with me, and she disappears. Just my luck."

**special thanks to captain p1anet for aid in getting his OC in character! See ya next time!**


	5. Chapter 5 The Other Voice

**CHAPTER 5 THE OTHER VOICE**

**Heres number 5!**

Psy went straight home after class, which was pretty much all there was to do after his dads new security measures were enacted. Today, Psy decided he was going to tell Spyro about his...other voice. Though his thoughts throughout the day drifted back and forth between that and the recent disappearance of Sharia, though the former was what scared him the most. How would his dad react? What if he had him committed or something?

Before he knew it he was coming into his living room and his mother greeted himself and Cloud with her usual hug and lick.

"Are you okay Psy? You look like you have something on your mind." She asked after Cloud left for his room.

'Well, I guess mom would be more understanding about this kind of thing...'

"Uh...I kind of do..." He said looking over her shoulder to make sure his brother was not coming back into the room. He would never hear the end of it from him if he found out he was hearing voices in his head that weren't his.

"I...when I...Remember yesterday when I got into it with Redge?"

"Yes." She said sitting down on one of many cushions in this room.

"Well, after he hurt Januz and Zyrnoth, I...another voice prompted me to act...it was like I knew it was mine, but at the same time, I had no control over what it said...Am I going crazy? What if I caught Clouds darkness?" He asked completely serious.

His mother held her gaze into her sons eyes, and spoke softly too herself

"The Chronicler was right..."

"Huh?" Psy said not catching what she said.

"No Psy, you aren't crazy. Have you told your father about this?" She asked.

"Not yet...I figured you would know more about this kind of thing..."

"Well I can assure you, you aren't crazy, and its certainly not Clouds darkness, as that is not contagious." She said almost laughing at the idea of him catching Clouds darkness.

"Spyro! Can you come in here?" She called down the hallway where his study was located.

"What? I'm looking for a missing dragoness at the moment!"

"Its about your son!" She called with some annoyance in her voice.

"What did he do now?" He answered back.

"Will you just get in here?" she demanded.

The sound of papers being shuffled and footsteps on the hardwood floor soon followed as Spyro emerged from his study chamber and took a seat on the cushion next to her.

"What is the matter Psy?" He asked.

He told him what he told his mother and Spyro nearly said the same thing as Cynder.

"Get Flame and Snow to watch Cloud, we have to go the the White Isles." Spyro said getting up and gathering things for the journey.

"Right now?" Psy asked.

"Yes, the Chronicler specifically told us to bring you to him if you ever began hearing things like that."

"What? Why?" The young dragon asked following his father into his study as his mother flew off to Flame and Snows place.

"Your mental abilities put an extra strain on your conscious mind, and any sign of mental instability we have to-"

"M-mental instability?" He stuttered.

"Relax Psy, the Chronicler is an expert on dragons with your kind of powers. We are only seeking his advice on the subject, son."

"Ok..."

His mother and father took Cloud to Flame and Snows chambers and took off for the white isles.

While they flew, Psy had time to think about what he was going to tell the Chronicler. Or if he would even get to speak at all. As much respect as Spyro had for his son and his accomplishments by his side, his fatherly instincts often required he speak for him.

After what felt like hours of boring wind rushing by his ears, the familiar sight of the islands he spent time as a child on popped over the horizon.

Psy's nerves began to make him uneasy as they approached the Chroniclers lair.

The three of them landed and entered the large doors to the scribe of the dragon race's chamber.

They walked down a long, torch-lit hallway until coming to a set of doors with a large hourglass on it.

"Chronicler? Are you there?" Spyro asked to anyone beyond the door.

"Enter."

Once inside, they silently marveled as books flew all over the place, placing themselves on different shelves as the Chronicler mentally directed their action from the center of the room.

"So good to see you again Psy, and you as well Spyro and Cynder. Psy has finally begun hearing his subconscious I see." He said immediately gathering why they had come with his minds eye.

"Thats what the voice was? My subconscious?" Psy asked as his parents took a seat on one of the many cushions in the room.

"Indeed Psy. Dragons with our kind of gifts generally have the ability to hear and tap into their subconscious, unlike most other beings. Now, as for why it was telling you to attack...Redge, was it?"

Psy nodded and allowed him to continue.

"Your subconscious is a direct reflection of your true feelings, though you may be trying to hide them, in this way, they will come out."

"So my subconscious was angry, because I was angry at Redge?"

"Thats correct. Nothing at all to worry about. Unless you were not angry and these thoughts entered your mind?"

"No...I've only ever heard it when I felt strongly about something."

"Well then your only problem is you are growing into a fine dragon. One I look forward to watching over from the spirit realm once my time on this planet is at its end. You will make an excellent chronicler Psy."

He nodded and kept his gaze towards the floor as he felt Spyro's paw on his shoulder reassuringly.

"There you have it son! Thanks for the help Chronicler."

"Certainly. I sense there is something else on your mind Spyro. What is it?" He asked

"Well, one of our charges went missing recently...a dragoness by the name of Sharia."

The chronicler closed his eyes for a few seconds before re opening them.

"The eastern dragoness correct?"

"Yeah." Psy answered, surprising even himself.

"You know her Psy?" Cynder asked."

"Well kind of..."

"Why didn't you bring her around the den? I would have loved to meet your girl friend."

"MOM! She's not my-!"

"Oh you know what I meant!" His mother said.

Psy put his claw on his face in embarrassment as he turned quite red.

"Ahem."

The Chronicler regained their attention and said

"All I can tell you is that she still walks among you."

"Well that's some good news. I hope Flame is having better luck in his investigation." Spyro sighed .

XXX

Flame snored loudly from behind his desk with his students homework assignments sprawled out over it, his grading quill sitting idle in the jar of red ink.

"Flame! I believe you're supposed to be looking for a missing dragoness!" Snow called from the hallway as she opened the door to his chamber with Cloud behind her hind leg.

"Huh?" He groaned awaking from his nap.

"Oh yeah...I should probably start on that."

"I'm taking Cloud for some frozen sheeps blood." She said as Cloud nearly exploded with excitement.

"Try to have a lead by the time Spyro gets back." She said leaving their dwelling.

"Right...lets figure out where you went Ms. Sharia..." He said to himself, setting off toward the temple's Hall of Knowledge.

He checked her records and located her parents names on her scroll.

"Hmm... Looks like her parents came from a pretty desolate region of the east...where did they get the gems to send her here?" he asked himself as he rolled up the scroll and sat down in one of the many cushions in the huge library.

"Maybe she didn't run away..." He said bolting upright and walking briskly toward the young lady's room to search for clues.

XXX

Sharia shook with fear as she tried to remove the blindfold, but she found her limbs bound together. All she could feel was the cold metal floor on her side as she lay...wherever she was. All she could remember was falling asleep in her room after the concert! Then she woke up like this. Where was she? Who would kidnap her? and why? All these questions raced through her mind as she could do nothing but contemplate her situation.

"You're awake! How nice." A somewhat soft male voice said. It sounded as though he was right next to her.

She flinched as soon as he spoke, to which he responded with a laugh.

"You need to relax, I'm not gonna hurt you! The boss needs you in one piece."

She quickly scurried to the corner of the cage with her back against the wall.

"Ugh, you're barking up the wrong tree there sweetheart, you aren't my... type." The voice said.

There was silence for a few moments as she heard the claws of her unidentified company get up and click all the way down what she assumed was a hallway getting fainter before he left her with a few parting words.

"This wouldn't be happening if your father wouldn't borrow gems he cant pay back!" and with that she heard a door close. Try as she might, she just couldn't free herself from her bonds, nor could she manage to remove her blindfold, so she laid on her back and thought about what was just said to her.

"That must be where dad got the gems to send me to Elder Spyro's school..." She reminisced about a conversation she had with her father before she left for Avalar.

Then her thoughts drifted to another terrifying idea.

No one knew where she was! Not even herself. Surely they had noticed she was missing? It would take a miracle for someone to find her here, wherever here is.

"Wait... Psy can communicate telepathically! I hope I'm strong enough to reach him..." She said concentrating as hard as she could to try and locate Psy's mental signature, though from this distance there were no guarantees she would even get through.

XXX

Psy and his parents were on their way back from the white isles when he could have swore he heard someone familiar say his name, as if they were calling for help.

Cynder noticed her sons expression and asked

"Whats the matter Psy? Something still on your mind?"

"No...thought I heard something...it was probably just the wind." He said as he continued on through the clouds.

Upon their arrival back at the temple, Flame was there to meet them with Cloud.

"Evening Spyro family! Like I said I would, I have a lead on our elusive Ms. Sharia."

"Hi Dad! Is Psy crazy or is he just faking it?" Cloud asked hugging his father and smiling cheekily at his brother who returned it with a glare.

"No and no, now get inside and help your mother with dinner."

"Okay..." Cloud sighed going inside. Spyro waited until his youngest son was inside and out of earshot before continuing with Flame.

"And that lead would be?" Spyro asked as Psy stood by his side listening eagerly to hear some good news about his new friend.

"Well, she didnt run away, that I know for sure. I interviewed her roommates, and she was alone in her room at the time. Her friends said she had no reason to run away, as she was receiving stellar marks academically and was quite popular among her fellow students. Which leads me to believe she has been kidnapped for ransom. Her records show her parents as being from a rather impoverished region of the east, that means they would have had to borrow the gems for her expenses here."

"How do you know that her parents borrowed from someone who would kidnap their daughter for payment? I don't see many banks doing something like that."

"Thats because banks would never give the amount of gems they were asking for to someone with virtually no means of repayment. So they went to the dark side."

"Ah, you mean-"

"Yes, criminals."

"Excellent job Flame, any lead on where they took her?"

Flames prideful explanation soon evaporated as he admitted

"Eh...no. Not really."

"Great. Well, the Chronicler said she is still alive, so there is still hope to find her."

It was at that moment Psy took his leave into the house.

"They may not know where she is, but I bet I know where to start looking." Psy said as he readied himself for an adventure he and his friends were about to jump into head first without any training, intelligence or idea of where to even look once they got there. Just like his old dad Spyro.

**Welp, there is the next chap! those who submitted OC's they WILL be in the story, as to where and when, well thats a surprise! Check back next chap to see who's OC shows up next time!**

**leave some revs folks!**


	6. Chapter 6 Showdown In Dragon Town

**CHAPTER 6- SHOWDOWN IN DRAGON TOWN**

Psy went to his friends room to tell them of his plan.

"So you guys remember how Sharia went missing?"

"Uh, yeah its only been a day." Januz stated.

"Right, well as usual the adults are doing nothing quickly so...I'm gonna try and find her."

At first they said nothing, only stared at him before Januz broke the silence.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Why are you so worried about this girl?" Zyroth asked.

"Well...at the show the other night, she hit me with her telepathy! I could hear her in my head clear as I could my own thoughts. Also, because you are my best friends, I have a secret I've been meaning to tell you." he said remembering his dads approval of what he was about to do.

They sat silently as they waited in suspense for him to finish.

"I'm psychic, and also telekinetic. I don't have an element, that's how I knew she too was at least telepathic."

"You're psychic? What am I thinking of?" Asked Januz.

"Roasted lamb, elder Neros lecture from three days ago, and what you are going to eat for dinner tonight, you want the roasted lamb, but a nice fried bird is also sounding good isn't it?" Psy rattled off the list like it was right in front of him.

"Wow...you got everything I...how did you do that?"

"I was born able to do it. Ever since I was a hatchling."

There was a brief silence, then Zyrnoth spoke up with

"What was that other thing you said you were? Tele-somthing?"

"Telekinetic. Check it out." He said as he casually looked at the heavy oak desk and lifted it up into the air effortlessly and spun it around a couple of times to drive the point home.

"What. The. Heck. I must be dreaming. How can any dragon be psychic?" Januz asked in disbelief.

"I don't know how. I'm just lucky I guess."

They nodded almost in unison.

"Yeah, well you are probably wondering how I am still your age, when everyone I fought with is an adult."

"They're older than you, that's why!" Zyrnoth said.

"They were our age. I age at half the rate of a normal dragon. When you guys are adults, I'll still be a teenager."

"Huh..." Januz added with a somewhat blank look on his face as he tried to absorb the knowledge one of his best friends had dropped on him.

"Why are you telling us all this now? Why have you been keeping this from us?" He said rather indignantly.

"My dad wouldn't let me. I guess he didn't want me to get picked on for being different. He said yesterday that I was allowed to tell you guys, but that's it. If dad finds out other people know about this, he will literally kill me." He said, neglecting to mention that he had gone probing around in Sharia's mind earlier that week.

"We got a little off topic, wasn't this whole thing supposed to be about you getting yourself hurt trying to save someone you just met? Do relationships really work that way?" Zyrnoth asked.

"Well, yes. I'd never be able to sleep at night if I didn't do everything I could to at least try and save her." Psy said

"O.K. Spyro, I guess I can understand that feeling, but how do you know she's even in trouble?" Januz added.

"I overheard Elder Flame talking to my dad about it. Apparently her parents borrowed money from criminals to send her here. When they couldn't pay them back...they took her."

The room was silent once again as the thought of an intruder sneaking past even Elder Nero's sensitive nose was a very disturbing thought to them indeed. Up until know, they had been assured that the temple was impenetrable to any intruders by the elders.

"Well, I guess you're serious about this aren't you?" Januz asked once more.

"I don't think he would have come and told his friends if he wasn't. I certainly don't look down on him. That would be mean." Zyrnoth said.

"Are you guys with me?"

"Hmm...the chance to get ourselves killed with you, after some chick neither of us have met...but then again, what fun is a death alone? I'm in."

"Z? What about you?" Psy asked with both him and Januz down with the reckless and somewhat suicidal plan.

He looked at the both of them and sighed.

"Whenever a friend needs me, I am there!"

"Awesome. There's only one place criminals with the kind of gems it takes to go here. Warfang."

"I have a cousin who lives there! We can stay with him while we search!" Januz added.

"Nice. Meet me in the courtyard at midnight. From there, we go into the city."

XXX

The ever present clicks of Puffs perfectly maintained claws against the polished marble of Marchino's lavish mansion echoed through the narrow, dimly lit hallway.

"I got that girl you wanted." He said leaning against the heavy oak door he had just opened.

"Good, but that was just a recon mission."

"Recon? I kidnapped a minor! How is that recon?"

"Now that you've been there once, asking you to go back there again wouldn't be unreasonable would it?" The manweresmall asked.

"That depends, as security will be considerably tighter, and they most likely wont be too kind to trespassers, so I'm going to need triple to go back in there."

"TRIPLE? Do I look like I'm made of gems?"

"Your choice tiny, if you want back in there, that's my price." Puff said not leaving his position against the office door.

Marchino settled back down in his high backed chair after looking at his financial records. He knew Puff was the best in the business in almost any illicit category, stealth entries, simple robberies all the way up through assassinations. There was no one bold enough to guarantee their employer they wouldn't be caught _before_they went on the mission.

"Fine. Its a theft, I want you to steal this." He said handing him a sketch on a piece of parchment.

Puff examined it before folding and tucking in his black robes.

"And that is?" He asked.

"Power. Unlimited power over every thing in this realm. And its just step one." Marchino said, a sly smile creeping across his face in the dim candlelight.

"Is there a deadline?"

"I'll give you a 5,000 gem bonus if you get it done tonight." He said rather frankly.

this took Puff by surprise, as Marchino was normally quite stingy with his gems, and never gave out bonuses.

"You really want this thing huh? You're lucky I'm still a few gems short of making rent." Puff said taking his leave down the familiar torch lit hallway.

"Now its only a matter of time..." He said after Puff was out of earshot.

XXX

The time crept by as Psy waited for the right time to meet his friends in the courtyard in between the elders patrols.

As the midnight hour drew near, he knew most in his house were asleep with the exception of his mom.

He figured he had better leave his parents a note, although he knew they would try to come get him once they found him missing. He was sure to leave out where they were going, though he was sure Warfang would be one of the first places they look. He also knew that if he didn't come back with Sharia, he would never be allowed to leave his house until he was an adult.

With midnight upon him, he slipped silently out of his balcony like he had done so many times before.

Just as Elder Nero rounded a corner, Psy saw the rest of his group peering out from some bushes about ten feet away. after checking for anymore vigilant elders, they set off toward Warfang without a sound.

As they flew, they discussed their plans.

"So your cousin knows we're coming right?"

"Yeah, I told my parents to let him know, so he should be expecting us." He said

'Well, at least I can hide out there in case I don't bring Sharia back!' Psy thought as the darkness of the new moon sky enveloped them as they went.

After the conversations had quieted down, the monotony of the flight began to grind on their nerves.

Zyrnoth spotted a small bit of movement in the distance while being carried by Psy and Januz.

"Do you guys see that?" He said pointing into the pitch black distance.

"Seriously? Its black out here! How can you see anything?" Psy asked.

Before Zyrnoth could respond, a black blur zipped right between the two dragons carrying him, causing them to lose their grip.

"Z!" They said in unison as he plummeted toward the earth, flapping his crippled wings in a vein attempt to get airborne.

"Watch where you're flying jerks!" They heard the blur call out as it tore through the sky and out of sight.

Januz luckily caught Zyrnoth just before he hit the ground.

"That was a mean thing to do...not what you did. " He said as Januz climbed to the altitude Psy silently hovered.

"We must be close to the city though, people aren't as rude in the country." Januz said as Psy grabbed Z's other forepaw and set off toward Warfang once more.

XXX

"Who flies after midnight? Country folk are weird." Puff said as the temple he had been to a few days before appeared over the horizon.

"I hope the security isn't too tight." He lamented, pulling the folded parchment from his robes and examining the mysterious item.

"Whats so special about this thing?" He wondered aloud as he slowed his approach speed and landed in the wooded area out side the temple.

He remember marchino's mission specs, the item was supposedly in a interior office, probably in a safe or secure place.

"Well, its not like this temple complex is huge!" He whispered in frustration as he looked at the sprawling school.

As he looked around from outside the wall, he noticed what appeared to be the central, tallest building.

"Best start looking there..." he said easily bounding over the perimeter wall and scaling the side of the building, peering into each window, but with each glance none of the rooms seemed to be the one with the device for which he was searching.

"Ugh, I'll be here till sunrise! No wonder he offered an extra 5,000 if I got it done tonight." he lamented as another casual glance, as luck would have it send his eyes straight to the window in Spyro's study.

'That looks important, better have a look!' He thought gliding off the central tower of the temple and onto one of the lower buildings.

Puff tried to open the window, but found it locked.

He cut a circle out of the glass with his claws and unlocked the window from the inside and slowly crept into elder Spyro's study.

Puff looked around the darkened room and saw many unique and priceless items on display, then he laid eyes on the reason he was here.

"Bingo." He said removing the glass display case and quickly stashed the item in his robes and moved toward the window when something startled him.

"Going somewhere?"

Puff froze in his tracks. He was the stealthiest assassin in all of Warfang! How could anyone have spotted him? His approach was perfect! He needed to know how he was spotted or it would drive him mad thinking about it.

"Eventually." he said with his back still to his adversary, contemplating escape, or battle.

"How did you know I was here?" Puff asked glancing over his shoulder only to reveal a figure in the shadows.

"Well, I'm assuming you were the one who kidnapped one of our students?"

Only Puffs eyes were visible in his black robes, but they seemed to smile as he said

"My work precedes me, I see."

Puff turned all the was around and the stranger stepped out of the shadow. Puff couldn't believe his eyes.

"T-The purple dragon?" he gasped.

All he had heard were the legends! That's all he thought they were! But here before him was certainly no myth.

"That's right. Now how about you put that back where you found it, tell me where Sharia is, and I'll let you leave this place under your own power."

Puff's shock wore off to be replaced with a sly grin.

"Not a chance."

**battle time? possible. next chap!**


	7. Chapter 7 Puff The Mercenary Dragon

**Chapter 7- Puff, The Mercenary Dragon**

"Then I guess there is only one option left." Spyro said confidently as he sized up the situation. He knew this guy, whomever he was; had talent.

"Does it? You may not know who I am, but I most certainly know who you are. The purple dragon of legend, one born every ten thousand generations, the one destined to defeat the previous purple scourge. Make no mistake I have great admiration for you and your deeds."

"Not enough admiration to do this the easy way?" Spyro replied.

Puff smirked, though it was invisible under his robes.

"Sorry, but I have to make rent this month, and this is my meal ticket." He answered.

Spyro chose electricity to subdue this opponent, as arcs of his element randomly shot from his body as he decided to charge a paralysis wave. Puff noticed this and realized the option Spyro was going to take.

"Well, its been fun, and dont think I would miss the chance to see the legendary dragon in action, but as they say out here in the sticks; momma didnt raise no fool. I believe I'll be going with the third option." He said as he pulled a small crystal stealthily from a pocket located on his back.

Spyro arched an eyeridge.

"And that would be?"

"Escape!" Puff said throwing said crystal right between Spyro's feet. He caught a glimpse of it right before impact. It was bright like the stars in the sky, but not nearly as bright as what happened next. The scene before him vanished into a sea of white. Whiter than anything he had ever seen, even though his eyes were wide open. A burning smell filled his nostrils and all he could hear was a very high pitched ringing. After about thirty seconds of shielding his eyes, his study began to slowly fill his vision. The only clue as to where his mysterious thief went was the open window he came out of. Spyro rushed to it, and scanned the skies, but it was still far too dark to see anything, especially something black.

"A deprivation crystal...Damnit I should have seen that coming!"

Spyro punched the windowsill of his study, sending a few splinters flying about as his fist made a sizable dent in the wood.

He glanced back at the empty case and his heart sank. A dear heirloom of his had been stolen, but he didnt take any of the other far more valuable things he had encased in glass, which made him believe this was a contract. Someone had found out that Spyro had such a powerful item in his possesion, but how?

XXX

Puff flew as fast as his wings could carry him in the brisk night air. It was close to morning now, he could see the beginnings of sunrise to the east, and if he wanted that extra 5,000 gems he would need to get to Marchino's mansion quickly.

During his flight he retrieved the stolen item from his robes and examined it. His Manweresmall boss told him this was worth untold fortunes, but nothing he had ever seen that was worth anything was this dull. No gold, no jewels, it didnt even shine! How could it be worth anything?

He stuffed it back into his robes as the mansion appeared on the outskirts of Warfang.

Upon arrival, Marchino was practically waiting outside for him.

"Here's that thing you wanted, now where's my gems?" he asked throwing the item to the mole. His boss didnt answer, in fact, he seemed captivated by the item in his hands, though it was a little big for them to hold. He traced its inlays and grooves with his right hand before he was snapped out of his trance by a smack to the head.

"Lets go! I want my money!" Puff said impatiently having asked for the third time.

"Oh right, in here..." He said beckoning the dragon to follow him into his lavish house. This raised Puff's suspicions immediately. Usually when he attacks or insults Marchino, he gets just as much lip back from him, but not today. Whatever that thing was had quite an effect on his mood.

Just inside the door to his home was a huge sack of gems, about ten times what they had agreed upon. Puff gasped, he had never seen so many gems in one place in his life.

"Take it." The mole said.

Puff's daze lasted only a second as he grabbed the burlap sack of gems and hurried off to his house, albiet much slower than usual. Puff couldnt believe how much he just got paid. Marchino was the stingiest mole he had ever met, and for him to just give him this much money, without counting it? Something was definitely up, but Puff decided to ignore his bosses weirdness as he made his way home. Once he arrived in the hallway, he was greeted by his nephew, and his two friends waiting outside his door.

'Oh thats right! Januz was coming to stay for a while with his friends!' He thought as Januz greeted his uncle with a hug, causing Puff to set down the giant sack of gems.

"Good to see you again Uncle Puff!" He said releasing him.

"You as well nephew Januz!"

"These are my friends Psy and Zyrnoth. Whats in the sack?" He asked noticing it.

"This? Oh yeah thats just this whole thing, lets just get you guys inside! You haven't been waiting here long have you?" he asked quickly changing the subject. His line of work wasn't something that his young guests needed to know about.

"Well only about ten minutes." Psy said as Puff unlocked the door. Once inside, the three young dragons were amazed by the opulence of Puff's apartment. Marble polished floors and white statues of dragons decorated the entrance way, which opened to a vaulted ceiling living room with floor to ceiling windows, overlooking the western part of the city.

"This is where you live?" Zyrnoth asked in awe of the luxury, his voice echoing slightly in the open spaces of the large apartment. Not even Elder Spyro's quarters were this nice.

"Yeah, this is home. There's the guest room down this hall, it sleeps four, so you guys should be fine in there. So what brings you and your friends into Warfang Januz? Shouldn't you be in school?"

"We're here to-" Zyrnoth began, but was quickly cut off by Psy with an alternative answer.

"We were given a few days off from our schooling as a reward for working so hard." He lied. Though Januz's uncle seemed trustworthy, it was better not to run the risk of having him alert their parents of their activity. Pretty much the only way for the three of them to avoid punishment was to come back with Sharia.

"Oh well in that case, you boys will love it here! Warfang is a vibrant city, with plenty to do! I dont have to work tomorrow, perhaps we can get lunch while you all are here?" Puff asked, behaving as a good uncle, not to mention one flushed with gems.

"That sounds good, but I'm worn out from the trip. Lets go check out our room." Januz answered as his friends followed him and passed out for the night.

Puff looked to the sack of gems after he heard his guests door close.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any." He said lifting the heavy bag onto his kitchen table. It fell over and gems slid across to the other side. He could see daylight through the large windows.

"Well I dont have a job tomorrow...I guess I could stay up a little longer and count some gems." He reasoned aloud, sitting down and started stacking.

XXX

"Spyro! I heard the noise, whats going on?" Cynder asked bursting through the door of his study, where only moments before her husband had confronted the mysterious thief.

"An intruder. The same one that kidnapped Sharia. He came back to steal something, and got away with it..." He said, still distraught that he had been too busy talking to the guy instead of subduing him. On top of that the item in question belonged to someone close to him, which only fueled his resolve to retrieve it.

Cynder looked at the empty case and realized what had been taken. She too realized it wasnt the most valuable thing in his room, and came to the same conclusion as her husband.

"Call an emergency assembly, and take a head count of all the students. I want to make sure that this scumbag hasn't taken anyone else."

Spyro was leaving his study when he passed Psy's closed door. close as it was to the study, the deprivation crystal detonation should have woke him.

He pushed the door open and saw a bunch of lumps on Psy's bed, but couldnt clearly make out his position.

"Get up Psy, there's been another break in." He said, though evoking no response from the lumps. He walked fully into the room and saw that they were only pillows.

Spyro's heart dropped into his stomach. Had the kidnapper gotten his son as well? How is that possible? Was their more than one intruder last night? All kinds of terrifying thoughts began racing through his head as he slowly backed out of the room and called Cynders name in a worried tone, which alerted her immediately.

She came dashing into the hallway, stopping right in front of her husband.

"Clouds gone!"

"Psy's gone!"

They said in unison, both letting each others bad news sink in before speaking again.

"Psy is gone?" She stammered

"Yes, and Psy is gone as well! We must join the other elders at the assembly, we must put aside our worry and make sure the rest of the students are safe!" Spyro ordered as he marched passed her. Cynder pushed her mothers pain at losing her children deep within her and followed her husband, vowing to find her sons no matter what it took.

XXX

"Holy crap! This is more money than I've ever seen in one place!" Puff heard and awoke with a start to a crick in his neck and three wide eyed youngsters staring at the half sorted stack of gems with still 3/4th's of it left to sort. He cursed himself for falling asleep with all this out.

"Where did you get all this money?" Januz asked astonished.

"Uhhhh, its...my inheritance! Yes, I inherited this." Puff said quickly.

"But I thought my mom was your inly living relative?" countered the clever young dragon.

"Yes well this was from my great uncles sisters cousin twice removed..." He trailed off.

"I've got to get all this to the bank, I'll see you all soon, feel free to eat anything I have!" Puff said gathering the sack and making his way out the door.

left in the solitude of the lavish apartment, Zyrnoth couldnt help but ask

"Well? We're in Warfang, now what?"

"I dont know. I know she was kidnapped by criminals, but there are probably thousands of criminals in this city...maybe we should have been honest with Puff when he asked." Psy began to wonder.

"He's lived here for a while, if anyone would know anything about the scum of Warfang, its him." Januz added.

XXX

"Incredible...I thought it was just a legend, but you actually acquired it! How?" The small mole in the white coat asked astounded.

"Dont worry about my means, just reverse engineer it so you can make more. I want my factories to start secretly producing them for use by moles. Understood?" He asked.

"Yes sir. They should be ready for mass production in a few days." The mole answered back.

"Excellent, this is just the beginning. Soon Warfang will belong to the moles that built it once again!"


	8. Chapter 8 Blood In The Streets

**CHAPTER 8-BLOOD IN THE STREETS**

**sorry this took so long!**

Sharia had managed to slip her blindfold off and chew threw her bonds, but all of that made no difference as she was still locked in a cage. Since her cell had no windows she had no way of knowing how long she had been there. If meals were any indication, she had been there for three weeks. Although it had been a long time between meals, so it could have been longer as she was quite hungry. The light was dim as she made another claw mark on the wall behind her indicating what she believed was the twentieth day of her ordeal. She sat on her haunches and sighed, wondering if Psy had heard her telepathic plea. She was so malnourished by this point that any expulsion of energy would possibly kill her. She heard the far door open and figured it was meal time once again. The darkened figure approached her cage, but instead of opening the food slot, he opened the door.

She was quite shocked as he beckoned her out. She cautiously stepped forward until she was in the hallway with him. The torch he held was just close enough to him that she could tell whoever this was had a black hood hiding his features, even his species.

_'A black hooded figure? I guess this is it...' _she thought to herself as he led her down the long hallway.

The figure stopped at a door and confronted her, the slits in the mask revealing dark eyes, but nothing else.

"A-are you gonna kill me?" She stammered in fear.

"Hmm." Her captor chuckled amused as he raised the torch and cracked her over the head with the unlit end, rendering her unconscious.

XXX

"Psy, I think its time we tell Puff what we're doing. So far by ourselves, all we've gotten is thrown out of every seedy ale house we've tried to bluff our way into, and chased by drug addled hobo manweresmalls!" Zyrnoth said as Psy and Januz sat on the couch in their rather spacious guest room.

Psy sighed "I think you're right. We just dont know anything about the underworld of this city."

"Maybe you should just go home and quit worrying mom and dad." Said a voice from the window. Cloud was sitting on the open windowsill, much to their shock.

"Cloud? What are you doing here?" Psy asked jumping off the couch to pull his little brother into the room, closing the window.

"You think I would let you go on an adventure without me? C'mon!" he said with a grin, though the others in the room didn't share his enthusiasm.

"But we've been gone for three weeks! You've been following us the whole time? How have you been surviving in this city?" Psy asked

"Yup. When you guys would fall asleep, I just crept in through the window-which you should really start locking by the way- and snuck into the kitchen for food, I just slept on the roof. It wasn't very comfortable, but dad always said you aren't supposed to be comfortable on an adventure." The young dragon explained.

"Well this is great. We'll never find her with him tagging along!" Januz said.

"Whats _that_ supposed to mean?" Cloud asked indignantly.

"He's right, we cant go traipsing around Warfangs seediest locations with a kid." Psy sighed as his brother folded his arms.

"You're only a few years older than me!" He fired back.

"Not like it matters, they won't let us in either." Zyrnoth stated bluntly.

A pause in the conversation allowed Puff to enter the room and stop upon seeing an extra dragon in the room.

"Wha...who is he?" Puff asked.

Realizing it was better to come clean and see if Januzs uncle could help them at all instead of continuing the lie.

"He's my little brother Cloud. He followed us out here because...we aren't on a break or anything, we're looking for someone who was kidnapped from our school."

'You've got to be kidding. I suppose I should have known this would happen, it was the only dragon school within 300 miles of Warfang.' Puff thought.

"Really? Thats tragic...so I don't suppose any of your parents know you're here?" he asked.

"Well...no. To be honest, they're probably worried sick." Psy said realizing that if Puff turned them in to Spyro, at the very least he would never leave the temple compound again.

"Speak for yourself, I don't have parents." Zyrnoth stated nonchalantly.

"Trust me when I say my dad will punish you like you were his own." Psy said, making Zyrnoth gulp in apprehension.

"This person you're looking for...does she have a name?"

"Yeah, Sharia...wait...how'd you know it was a she?" Psy asked.

"Dah...lucky guess! Besides, three strapping young lads like yourselves wouldn't have come all this way for a boy now would you?" 'Unless you were me...hehe' he thought to himself.

"Well, I'd like to think we would...but you're probably right..." Psy admitted

"Though the real reason is Psy's got a crush on her!" Cloud blurted out as Psy punched him in the shoulder.

"Ah, that makes a bit more sense...though why did the rest of you join him?" Puff asked

"What kind of friends would we be if we let him get stabbed in a dirty alley by himself?" Januz answered.

Puff thought about what was revealed to him, and although he was the one who kidnapped said girl and technically brought them here in the first place, he knew he couldn't let his nephew and his friends risk their lives by going after Marchino's thugs. Looks like it was time for him to go against his old master. But if word got out that he turned on his employer, he'd never work for organized crime again. He was in quite a tough position.

"If we don't come back with Sharia, we are so, _sooooo_ screwed." Psy pled with their host.

Puff sighed heavily. He too was once young and reckless.

"Ok tell you what, I'll search for her tonight, and if I can't find her, I'll try to vouch for you to your parents, but you have to go back to school tomorrow. Understand?"

"Yes..." they answered in unison.

"Good, now get some rest, its almost high moon."

XXX

Marchino had been quite busy these past few weeks. He had the artifact successfully reverse engineered and redesigned for use by manweresmalls, and had given the order to release all those held for ransom by his crime syndicate, as kidnapping and extortion were small game compared to what he had in mind.

The well dressed crime boss walked over the catwalks above his factory assembly line as one by one a new weapon of unimaginable devastation was released upon a fragile and unsuspecting world.

Another manweresmall approached him from the other side of the catwalk with a clipboard, waiting for Marchino to acknowledge him.

After a few seconds of standing there, he spoke up.

"Sir, we already have enough made to arm our hit squads to eliminate the other crime syndicates. Shall we proceed with the plan?"

"Yes. Make sure they know to spare no one." He ordered.

"Yes sir. By tomorrow, there will be no criminals in all of Warfang."

"Good. Schedule a town meeting in the city center. I'm sure the people will want to know of how their governor rid their beloved city of the scum of Warfang." He added.

XXX

Sharia's head was pounding like...well like someone had hit her with the unlit end of a torch. Sure she was dead, she opened her eyes and focused on the starry sky above. Realizing she was in fact alive, she sat up, putting one paw on her aching head. She felt a sizable lump on the left side of her skull.

"Ahh!" She withdrew her paw as soon as she touched it. Soon her attention was focused on her surroundings. She was in a dirty alleyway in a large city, though where she couldn't be sure. The large stone buildings towered over her as she got to her feet.

"They let me go..." She whispered aloud. Had her parents come up with the gems to pay for her release?

'No, otherwise they would have given me back to them...right?' she wondered.

Regardless, she quickly decided to get out of that dingy alley and onto the road a few feet away. It must have been late as the street lamps cast their glow onto empty streets.

Her stomach rumbled loudly as her poor diet during her captivity had done little to assuage its constant cries for food. Down the street she heard the clatter of plates and goblets. A few blocks away she saw the lights of what appeared to be some sort of dining hall. She could smell the food from there and before she knew it she was walking towards it.

The closer she got the more the scent of that delightful food beckoned her onward.

She was about a block away when she noticed a group of well dressed Manweresmalls gathered outside the hall.

A few glanced at her but they appeared far more nervous as they talked in hushed tones among themselves. She took no notice of them as she entered the eatery.

She noticed there were similarly dressed manweresmalls drinking ale, some of which appeared drunk. All however appeared as though they had been in their fair share of scraps.

"What's a girl your age doing out at this hour? Its a welcome change from the normal clientele I get in here." A voice from behind the bar asked. She climbed up onto a chair and sat resting her forepaws on the wooden bar as an elderly barkeep sized her up as he cleaned a goblet.

"I...I was kidnapped. Can you tell me where I am?"

"Kidnapped? My word dear that sounds terrible! Do you know who did it?"

"No...I never saw a face or heard a name...But about where I am..."

"Oh yes, you're in Warfang, south side. This humble tavern is Edgars, and I, am Edgar."

"Huh...I've only heard of this place...the city, I mean." She said, her stomach grumbling loudly.

"Looks like you could use a hot meal."

"Thats the truth...but I dont have any money..."

"Not a problem, it's on me." The kindly old bartender said.

She was taken aback by his kindness.

"R-Really?" she stammered.

"Of course my dear! I can't in good conscience, let a young one like yourself go hungry now can I? Besides, believe me when I say you are a welcome sight for someone who's patrons are mainly criminals."

"If you know they're criminals, why do you let them in?" She asked as he set a plate of lamb in front of her, which she eagerly began eating.

"Gems are gems. Without them I'd be out of business." He answered.

He left her to her food as he tended to others across the bar.

After she had got done eating, she waited for Edgar to come back by when she heard the door slam open.

Everyone in the room jumped as they all stared at the group of eight manweresmalls standing in the doorway. The others in the bar stood up and some drew a variety of weapons from chains to clubs to daggers. Sharia was sitting silently at the bar and noticed Edgar also stopped in his tracks. She recognized them as the same ones standing outside the bar earlier looking rather nervous.

The mole who led the group that burst into the bar smiled an evil grin.

"You're outnumbered pigs, what on earth are you smiling about?" One of the manweresmalls confronting them barked.

"Just a bunch of dead manweresmalls." The lead one said, pulling from his breast pocket of his coat a small metal and wooden device that fit comfortably in his hands but took both hands to hold, as did the rest of his colleagues.

"The governor sends his regards!"

Then all hell broke loose right in front of Sharias eyes.

**Well, not only is Marchino a criminal, but he also runs the city! absolute power absolutely corrupts after all. what hell was released? next chap has all the answers!**


	9. Chapter 9 Pandoras Box

**CHAPTER 9- PANDORAS BOX**

Puff flew silently over the city on his way to Marchinos when he notice strange sounds emanating from what seemed like all over the city. It sounded like the fireworks used in the new years celebration, but that was still six months away. From above he saw groups of five or more manweresmalls rushing into every shady bar and hangout on the south side of the city. Thinking it was no more than the police executing a few arrest warrants he brushed it aside as he flew. Marchinos factory complex came into view, and as luck would have it, he was a bit thirsty from his flight and decided to stop in at his favorite watering hole for a quick shot of courage before breaking into the compound, which happened to be right next to his target; Edgars.

Upon his arrival, he saw what looked like Edgar, and a young dragoness, the one he had kidnapped in fact!

'What are the odds?' He thought as he descended and landed in front of them, somewhat pleased that he wouldn't have to try and break into a very secure area.

"Edgar! Set me up with a drink! Also miss, I have a few friends who've been looking for you!" he said happily, but he paused as he noticed the thousand yard stare each of them possessed, and a splatter of blood across her face. It was as though they were staring straight through him. He had seen this before. It was shock, but the reason wasn't apparent, at least not right away.

"You two ok?" he asked.

After a few seconds, Edgar regained his composure.

"Puff...s-something...happened inside..." He stammered as Puff caught a glimpse of the open door to the bar. He could see bodies and blood lying all over the place inside and took a cautious step back. It looked like a war had been fought inside his bar.

"What...the hell?" he said recoiling in horror. Even in his line of work, he had never seen carnage of this magnitude.

The echoes of those strange sounds kept on throughout the night as he stood there, trying to comprehend what had happened.

He looked to them, and realized that whatever happened inside that bar was why they looked the way they did.

'I have to get them out of here.' he thought. Even though the grisly scene inside the bar turned his stomach, this was still a bad area to be alone in at this time of night.

"Can you fly?" He asked Sharia.

She looked at him, and slowly shook her head. She was still far too weak to fly.

"Edgar, climb onto my back, We need to get out of here before whoever did this decides to come back!" Puff said as he took Sharia in his arms and took to the air. As he flew back to his place, he noticed smoke rising from various spots in the city. The hardened assassin dragon knew that something was definitely wrong this night in Warfang.

**XXX**

**(This takes place before Puffs arrival)**

What followed was something that Sharia could barely comprehend. Fire left the ends of the weapons those at the door wielded as splinters from the tables and chairs in the bar flew all around her. The next minute seemed to happen in slow motion as she watched manweresmall and a few dragons fall, some blood splattering on her face as some ran in vain for cover. She watched one of them tip a table over as he cowered behind it, but it was no match for whatever those devices where. The table splintered into hundreds of pieces as she heard his cries, but felt somewhat removed from the whole scene, as if she was just watching this all happen, but she wasn't actually there. She witnessed the moles blood erupt from his chest as his back was to the attackers. Before she knew what happened, everything stopped...there was a ringing in her ears and an acrid scent filled her nostrils, nothing like the smell of regular smoke made by fire dragons or a bonfire. There was blood...everywhere. She surveyed the scene before her with absolute shock. The color was drained from her scales as she felt Edgar yank her over the bar and behind the counter, hiding, cowering for their lives. Who were these assailants? What did they want? What kind of terrible magic did they posses to literally rip the flesh and blood from the bones of those other manweresmalls?

She began to breath heavily and rapidly but Edgar shushed her and they held each other close in, for all they knew were their final seconds. After the ringing subsided, they heard the attackers footsteps coming closer to the bar. Edgar was clutching a club with a nail through it, normally used to keep order in the bar, now used in a last bid to save their lives.

"There are two more behind the bar, the owner and a dragoness, not yet an adult." They heard one of them say to the leader. Their footsteps came closer and the elderly mole stood up and pointed the club at the group, it visibly shaking in his hands.

The lead manweresmall grabbed the weapon from Edgar and tossed it behind him.

"Grab them." The leader said as they came behind the bar and dragged them both to the entrance, their weapons still emitting the terrible smelling smoke.

Sharia was paralyzed with fear, unable to even summon an ember, let alone use her breath attacks. The group of them just eliminated about fifty souls, in less than twenty seconds. What chance could she have?

The both of them were shaking with fear when they released them and pushed them to their knees.

"Remember what you saw here. Criminals will no longer be tolerated in Warfang, so I suggest you start serving a more respectable clientele." The leader said as they left the bar.

The scene before them was one of unspeakable horror. Edgar wrapped an arm around Sharia and she did the same as they walked out of the bar and out into the street, where the faint echoes of the same thing happening in seedy locales all across the city.

XXX

Around dawn, Psy heard a stirring in Puff's living room. He looked around at his friends and little brother and they were all fast asleep. He quietly removed himself from the room and walked down the hallway toward the voices he recognized as Puffs, but another older voice was conversing with him, though he couldn't make out what they were saying.

As soon he rounded the corner, he saw Sharia on a cushion, wrapped in a blanket asleep. He saw Puff preparing food for an older manweresmall he didn't know. The dragon caught the young one out of the corner of his eye.

"Ahh, you're up early Psy. Hungry?" He asked turning to him.

"Yeah." He said walking over as whatever conversation they were having was abruptly ended.

"You found Sharia? You were only gone for a few hours! How'd you do it so fast?" He asked.

"Its not too hard when you know where to look. It wasn't the first place I checked, but eventually she turned up." He lied nonchalantly.

"Was she hurt?" He asked genuinely concerned for her safety...at least, thats what he told himself.

"No, just a bit malnourished...but she saw something tonight that was very traumatizing. She was in shock when I found her, as she was with him." He said motioning to the older mole beside him.

"This is my friend Edgar, he runs a bar downtown."

"Used to." He corrected. "I dont think I'll be going back there for a while...not after-"

Puff silenced him with his eyes and followed with "Ed, not in front of the kid."

Psy thought about what she could have seen, but decided to leave it be as Puff clearly had strong feelings about whatever it was. He was just glad that Sharia was back and safe.

"Did you have to fight anyone? Dad said he was sure she was kidnapped by criminals." He asked.

"You don't have to fight when no one knows you're there." He explained as he set food before the old mole and Psy.

"Your dad should be here soon." he added, which made Psy gulp in apprehension of what his parents would say to him about running off.

Puff recognized this and smiled at the young dragon. He thought it cute how worried he was about parental retribution.

'Oh to be young again...' he thought.

"Dont worry Psy, I'll tell them you and your friends found her. That should make them at least a little less angry, but you had better go wake up the rest of them so you can all get your story straight before they arrive." He added after he had only taken a few bites.

Soon after the sun had risen and Edgar had gone, there was a knock at the door. Psy and his friends sat in the living room with the still sleeping Sharia, ready to back each other up in case of questioning by Elder Spyro.

Before Puff opened the door, he turned to look at them.

"Ready?" He mouthed.

They nodded.

He opened the door and greeted Cynder and Spyro.

"Its an honor to meet the great purple dragon, and you as well Cynder." he said, the irony in his statement palpable only to him.

Spyro felt something vaguely familiar about this dragon. The communique he had received early this morning said he was Januzs relative, though he didn't question it, as he was just relieved that his sons hadn't been kidnapped by that mysterious thief.

"Thank you for taking care of them. We owe you a debt of gratitude." He said coming in, seeing Psy and his friends in the sitting room.

Cloud and Psy walked to him and gave an explanation his best shot, but not before Cynder pushed past Spyro and swept her boys up in a mighty hug only a mother could give.

"I was so worried! Don't you ever do that again!" She scolded as they were still locked in her hug.

"Ok...mom...we're sorry...please don't choke us...!" Cloud said as she finally released her sons, but not before a kiss on the cheek, much to their embarrassment.

"I'm sorry I snuck off and I'm sorry Cloud followed me but we got Sharia back!" Psy pled with his father, trying to lighten his sentence before the court of his parents.

Spyro stepped forward and bent down so that he was eye level with his sons. A stern look graced his face, but it was broken as he hugged them as well, though decidedly not as bone crushing as their mothers.

"I understand, I was young once...Puff tells me you and your friends are responsible for her rescue?" He asked as Januz and Zyrnoth stepped up behind them.

"Thats right. They were quite the adventurers." Puff added as he prepared more food for the rest of his guests.

"Can I offer you some lamb?" He asked Spyro and Cynder.

"No thank you, we ate before we arrived."

"Then at least allow me to feed the young ones before you leave! Also...before you leave, there is something you need to know about Sharia..." He said.

He served the rest of the young dragons and walked with Spyro and Cynder into a different room.

"About Sharia...when the kids found her, she was in shock. She wouldn't speak, would barely eat...she's been asleep since they found her a few hours ago. She wasn't injured when they brought her back, so I don't believe she was abused in any way by her captors. I dont know what she witnessed, but whatever it was must have been pretty horrendous. I'm not a doctor, but you may want to let her come to you about what it is that did this to her."

Spyro and Cynder nodded as they went back out into the living room where the rest of their group finished their meal, with the exception of Sharia, who was still asleep on the cushion she had been on since she had arrived.

"Everyone ready?" Spyro asked. They all nodded and left Puff's apartment as he closed the door behind them and slid down it, sitting on the floor.

"Thank the gods thats over!"

But this wouldn't be his last encounter with the dragons from the old temple.

**This also won't be the last of Spyro at warfang! a storm is on the horizon, and with these terrible new weapons there may be no one who can stem the tide. or is there? only time will tell!**


	10. Chapter 10 Head Trip

**Chapter 10** **-HEAD TRIP**

**I have renewed vigor, and I'm putting out chapters like its my job.**

Outside the building, Zyrnoth hitched a ride on Spyro's back while Cynder carried a still groggy Sharia back to the temple.

Once there, she was put in the infirmary until she was well again, but Spyro made it a point to see if she would reveal to him what had traumatized her. Every day he would come by and ask her how she was doing, and if she was ready to talk about her ordeal. Everyday so far, the answer was the same gentle 'not yet' that had grown to frustrate him so. But he didn't blame her...whatever happened had to have been intense to do this to her.

After they got back, no one was really punished for their little adventure. Mostly thanks to Puff for lying about who really found her.

A few days after their return, Psy asked if he could see Sharia in the hospital wing. She had been restricted to only visitation from the temple elders, and even they were having no luck getting anything out of her. Anytime they would speak of what happened to her, she clammed up immediately.

Psy was just outside her room, feeling unexpectedly nervous.

'Alright...time to go see her...now...now...now...' He thought, though after three attempts he found himself still standing in the same spot.

"Waiting for someone?" A voice from behind said, startling him. It was Eldess Snow. She ran the medical wing after the fall of Malefor, picking up where the brief amount of healer training Austin had given her during the war left off. She was now the best dragon doctor in all the realms.

"Not really...just trying to visit someone." He answered still somewhat nervous.

"Sharia is restricted to elder visits only you know." She warned.

"I know...I talked to my dad...he said it was ok if I tried to get her to tell me what happened to her. He wasn't having much luck, but said I could give it a shot." He explained.

"I see. She has been quite reserved since she arrived. Good luck." She said opening the door for him.

"Sharia, you have a visitor." She called into the room.

She was laid up on a cushion looking out of her window. It was raining, but you couldn't tell by the expression on her face. She seemed to enjoy every minute of it. She turned to see her latest visitor.

When Psy's eyes met hers, his green scales were a ruby red. Butterflies in the stomach and all.

'No...I do like her!' He thought as she addressed him after Snow left the room.

"Hello Psy. I understand you and your friends saved me from those criminals...or at least thats what I've been told. I dont remember much from the ordeal to be honest." She admitted rather shamefully, Psy picking up on this instantly.

"Hey, its not your fault. When P-...I mean when _we_ found you, you were in shock! You went right to sleep after we brought you to Puff's place." He said finding his tongue and sitting down next to her.

"I know...they want to find out who kidnapped me, but my parents are too far away to contact and I can't remember anything...well...I can remember one thing..." she sighed.

Psy's intrest piqued as he sat up straight.

"What? If you don't mind telling me..." He retracted.

"No...I just got tired of the other elders hounding me. I wanted to give them the information they wanted...but I just couldn't remember it...its like I mentally blocked it or something." She said.

"All I remember is where I was held, had no windows." She said turning to look outside at the softly falling rain.

"It's only after you think you're going to be killed do you really appreciate how beautiful something like a rainy day or any day for that matter truly is." She said.

Psy was somewhat disappointed by that, as he had hoped she was withholding at least some sort of clue as to who abducted her in the first place.

However, Psy had an ace up his sleeve, as it were.

**(Earlier that day in the temple library)**

"You want to do what?" Januz asked.

"Astral projecting. When you go into someones mind and recover lost memories-"

"I know what it is! But no one can even do that except...well...I don't know, but certainly not you! The last known practitioner of astral projection died a thousand years ago!" His charcoal friend explained flipping through a book on the subject.

"Why do you want to do this?" Zyrnoth asked as he sat back in his chair as his friends argued.

"Sharia knows that Puff actually rescued her, and if she tells the elders the truth, we are _screwed!" _Psy reminded him.

"Do I really need to tell you how unethical it is to mess with someones memories?" Januz added.

"Do I need to tell how what my dad is going to do to us if he finds out we lied to him about rescuing her _and _allowing my idiot brother to come with us?" Psy answered.

Januz sighed. He was right, they would have extra training every day until they were adults if the elders found out they were lying.

"Well then I guess we should get started." He said.

"I've done research on this before, and I can tell you that going into someones mind isn't as straightforward as it sounds." He added.

"Whats so complex about it?" Psy scoffed, his arrogance as a psychic dragon showing.

"Well for one, even the slightest disturbance of any memory or trait can alter their personality permanently! I mean what if you accidentally take out her knowledge of how to breathe or something? If she dies while you are inside her head...well I dont know what would happen but I'm sure it wouldn't be much fun! Besides that, foraging into someones head will cause the hosts mind to attack your projection, so at most, you'll have only a few minutes in there before you are attacked by the hosts psyche." He said condescendingly.

"Ok, so I'll just be careful." Psy said.

"What you also don't know, is that it takes massive amounts of energy, all focused to keep you inside their astral plane. If you're concentration breaks, even for a second, you'll be kicked out and all the worse for wear, with minimal, or no energy."

"So I would just pass out if that happened?"

"You would die! No energy means no mental function, no heartbeat, no nothing!" Januz continued.

"Oh..." Psy said, his bravado fading.

"Psy this kind of thing takes years to master! You can't just decide to do it one day! There are too many risks!"

Zyrnoth sat up and agreed.

"I think he's right Psy, you could hurt her or yourself permanently! Is that really worth extra training or being restricted to the temple?" Their water dragon friend reasoned.

Psy looked at them both and moved closer, and in a hushed tone, spoke

"All my life I've wanted to be as good as my dad. He saved the world from Malefor, and did half of that when he was my little brothers age! I know I was there, but my role in it was pretty small, I only took out maybe five, six apes tops. Every day in training he pushes me to work harder, but for what? There are no adventures, no evil monsters, no planet threatening evils, hell, we couldn't even find a girl kidnapped by common criminals! He beat the most powerful dragon in the universe at our age! I was trained by the Chronicler himself to use my abilities, and it may just be blind faith, but I know I can do this. If this is the only mountain that I have to climb, then by the gods, I will climb it...But I can't do it alone."

After a brief moment, Januz spoke.

"So this is all because you have daddy issues?"

"No! Its to keep our asses covered and to prove to myself I'm worthy to become the Chro-" He stopped just short of revealing his true destiny.

"I mean to prove to myself that I was worthy of being the Chroniclers student." He corrected.

Honestly surprised by his friends vulnerable moment, Januz and Zyrnoth agreed to help him.

(**back in sharias room)**

"Well...If you want, I can try and...recover your memories for you." He suggested.

"What? How can you do that?" She asked curiously.

"My friends and I looked up how to perform astral projection. Since you and I are already pretty advanced in related fields, I figured I could try it and try to figure out what happened to you."

She sighed heavily and spoke softly.

"I won't lie to you Psy...I know how dangerous this is...for both of us."

"I know...so do I. Sharia, have you ever heard of someone named, the Chronicler?"

"Yeah, the keeper of the records of our race? I've always heard he was just a myth."

"Well...he's not. I trained under him when I was younger...thats how I could telepathically communicate with you." He said to try and reassure her that he knew what he was doing.

After a small pause, she began laughing.

"You? Trained by the Chronicler? I know you're trying to convince me of your ability but you don't have to lie!" She said between gasps.

"I'm not lying! I really was!"

"Ah ha! Ha! Oh, thats cute. Anyway, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to bring whoever did this to justice."

'Well I guess no amount of talk will convince her, best to just get this over with.' Psy thought.

"Ok, I'm going to need you to be asleep."

"I sleep most of the day, and I'm not really tired, and you can't see me after sundown..." She lamented.

"I know, which is why I took a pinch of my dads sleeping powder from his study." He said producing a small pouch that had been around his neck.

"Just inhale." He said placing what he had on his paw then blowing it gently into her face. She breathed deeply and felt the powder tingle all the way into her lungs as a very heavy feeling washed over her. Her head fell back against her cushion and before she knew it she was out cold.

Psy sat down next to her, closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could, the next step was crucial. After a few minutes, he lifted his right forepaw and it began to glow. He extended a finger and a point of bright light gathered at the end of his claw. He touched it to her forehead and in an instant he felt his consciousness leave him.

'Well, the hard parts over.' He thought as he opened his eyes. All around him was darkness, save for a small hut made of straw a few feet in front of him.

"Psyche's are houses? Maybe its just hers." He said as he hurriedly approached the simple hanging cloth that was the door. He remembered what Januz told him about his limited time in her head. 'How can a psyche attack someone?' He wondered as he pushed the cloth aside. What was before him was impossibly large. It was a huge room with six large doors and hundreds upon hundreds of smaller doors, each labeled with a date.

"These big ones must be the doors of perception...I wonder where her memories are hiding?"

Each one of the larger doors had a sense. Sight, Touch, Taste, Hearing, Sight, and a sixth door that wasn't labeled.

'Never open the sixth door!' He remembered Januz explicitly warning him.

'I'll come back to that one later.' He thought to himself mischievously.

As he pondered which door to go through, he felt a presence behind him. He turned sharply to check behind him and saw that the cloth door he had originally come through was gone, replaced by more of the small doors with dates on them.

"Uh Oh."

**Trapped in someones else's head? nice. How will Psy escape? perhaps he should've spent a bit more time with his friends in the library! **


	11. Chapter 11 Memory Lane

**Chapter 11-MEMORY LANE **

Psy turned back to the many doors and picked one. As it creaked open, a blinding light came from behind it and as he stepped through, he was placed in a lush valley with huts he recognized as the same one he entered to gain access to her mind in the first place. Before him was a small village, thirteen or so huts in various places, with fields and livestock behind them. Eastern dragons were far in the fields tending to their herds and crops, as unlike he and his family, eastern dragons were omnivores. Playing in front of the huts were a couple of hatchlings, not much younger than Cloud kicking a ball around in some sort of game Psy was unfamiliar with. He approached them and recognized one as a young Sharia.

"This isn't the right memory..." He said turning back to the door he came in through to find it gone, with nothing but the mountains behind him.

"Again?" He said annoyed as he looked around for another way out, with only the other huts in the village providing his only option. He walked right through the game Sharia was playing with her friends and they kept on as if he wasn't there. A rumble from the west caught his attention as a distant purple light shone from the far mountains. The children all stopped their game and looked at the purple lights shooting into the sky. Parents of the children came out of the homes and ushered them inside in Erwae. Little Sharia was hurried into her house despite her complaints in a language Psy had no hope of understanding. He knew the cause of the interruption, this was the final battle against Malefor. Though his grip was global, some places were lucky enough to escape his evil gaze. He approached her hut and the same bright light shone from behind the simple hanging cloth door as he brushed it aside and walked into an older Sharia and her parents having a tense conversation. Her mother was a light pink like her daughters belly and seemed to be older than his mom, but she had aged gracefully. Her father was rather built and had a few obvious scars, though from what he couldn't say. He was a deep blue, and his horns were rather impressive though he appeared to be his fathers age, though since this was just a memory they were probably older by now.

"Its ok...I wasn't really expecting to be able to go to Elder Spyro's school...It was just wistful thinking I guess..." She said as she walked right through Psy to get outside. Her parents spoke Erwae to her, but lucky she responded in Draconian. He guessed he had those monks she mentioned to thank for being able to understand anything she was saying. He turned to head outside and there was no bright light this time, but the solitude of a country night as all the stars shone brightly without the moon in the sky, even though it had been daylight seconds before. He found her sitting against her house looking up at the stars, lamenting her situation.

"Stupid school...charging for admission." She sighed "At least the monks didn't charge us..." Psy felt terrible for her. He had never experienced a deep wanting for anything, as Spyro, Cynder and the rest of the elders had always provided for him since the fall of Malefor. He saw the stars reflect brightly in her eyes as he tried to empathized with a deep wanting of something that was simply out of reach, something he hadn't seen in anyone since the war. Now he knew why her parents would do anything, even make a deal with the devil to make their daughter happy. He couldn't dwell on this memory though, as his attention snapped back to why he was here in the first place. He turned back to her hut and saw the light indicating passage through the door would continue his journey through her mind. He entered without hesitation and came upon the day the two of them met in the field where he had crash-landed in front of her band. He smiled as he turned somewhat red with embarrassment remembering his initial awkwardness upon his first encounter.

"This is getting me nowhere! She has thousands of memories, how am I supposed to find the right one!" He said aloud to himself. Then he felt that same feeling he had when he first arrived, as if eyes were upon him but he couldn't see them. He quickly turned his head and was confronted by none other than Sharia herself! Except…something was off about her. She looked the same and everything, but there was something missing. Her eyes, instead of being their normal green, were now almost black.

"Sharia! Thank the gods you're here! I'm sort of los- Wait…how did you get inside your own head?" He asked, but she didn't answer, only glared back at him.

Then he remembered what Januz had said about the Psyche attacking his astral projection.

"Uh oh." He said as the figure before him took a swipe at him with her claws.

He pulled his head back and missed her swipe by millimeters as he stumbled back a few steps, though she continued to advance, her fangs barred.

'If you fight or injure the psyche while it's trying to kick you out, you'll damage her personality, or her forever!' He recalled Januz saying as he turned tail and began sprinting away from her as she followed close behind. He was thinking as fast as he could but there were no doors around as they were in the middle of a field outside the temple. He kept running and soon he noticed the grass ran out and a sheer drop into white abyss soon came into view. He stopped just short of the edge and looked back. Sharia's psyche was about twenty feet away and closing at full sprint. He looked back at the white void and realized his only option if he was going to erase her memory of Puff rescuing her. He jumped off the edge and saw the void envelope him as he fell. He turned back to hope her psyche hadn't followed him, and to his relief she was nowhere to be found. He then realized he had stopped falling, and was just floating in a blank white void. He looked around and saw nothing in every direction. He flapped his wings but they didn't seem to take him anywhere at first, but then he spotted a speck below him that gradually got bigger as he flapped his wings towards it. The speck quickly grew in size and he realized what he was heading to was a dark room! Soon the white void was replaced by dingy stone walls as he landed gently on the floor of the room, lit only by torches. He noticed a cage in the far side of the room, and saw Sharia inside!

"What are the odds!" He said relieved that he had found what could lead him to the memory he had been searching for. He walked over to the cage and saw a somewhat emaciated Sharia staring blankly into the darkness. Psy felt his teeth clench as he saw her conditions, but a door at the far end of the room opening broke his anger. He whipped around to see a large figure in a black hood walking towards the cage. He could only watch as she was taken from her cage and walked to the door. She turned to her captor and said something, though Psy couldn't make out what. The large creature hit her with the end of his torch and proceeded to go through the door dragging an unconscious Sharia by the arm with him. Psy followed the captor through the door and was enveloped by the same bright light that signaled another transition into another memory. He prayed this time the transition would be chronological.

After leaving the door, he entered what looked like a tavern, and noticed Sharia eating on a barstool talking to the old mole he recognized from Puff's apartment.

'This must be it! It must happen here!' He thought as he looked around at the tough looking group inside the tavern. As he approached the bar he felt the feeling of unnatural eyes on him again.

'Oh _come on!_' He thought glancing over his shoulder, seeing what he expected. Sharia's psyche glaring at him, not speaking with fangs barred in a permanent look of revulsion. Her cold stare disturbed him to his core as he calculated his next move. He had to see what happened in this tavern, but he couldn't do that if he was dodging her psyches attacks. Oddly enough, she didn't charge him like last time, but slowly took each step as the memory continued to play out uninterrupted. Psy cautiously took a step back for every step she took forward. 'How am I supposed to fight something I can't injure?' He thought as he hoped whatever trauma happened here would hurry up and happen. He soon found himself against the back wall of the tavern as her psyche was now two feet from him. A quick claw swipe came his way as he ducked to avoid it as she left deep clawmarks in the wall. She was relentless in her attacks as swipes and punches were thrown in quick succession, missing Psy by inches or less in some cases. He only had one shot to contain her, but he was unsure weather or not it would work. Januz couldn't tell him weather or not he would be able to use his psychic abilities once inside her head, as no book they could locate covered such subject matter. He really didn't have a choice, as it was either that, fight her psyche and risk making her into a vegetable, or get kicked out of her mind without seeing the appropriate memory, or retrieving the one of Puff rescuing her from the tavern. He went with trying to contain her. He concentrated, held out his arm and cast a telekinetic barrier around her. She clawed and bit at the barrier but it held as he breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed a few manweresmalls had burst into the door, about eight of them blocking the only exit. The tension in the air grew as the hardened thugs in the tavern stood up and drew their melee weapons to attack the interlopers. Psy heard them say words he couldn't make out from the back of the tavern and produce something he instantly recognized. Guns. The manweresmalls had somehow gotten a hold of guns. He remembered how Austins worked, and knew how deathly efficient they were. His was the only one in all the realms, and it was kept safe in his dads study! How on earth could they have gotten ahold of the knowledge to create one, let alone eight? No armor could protect you, and only the thickest of stone wall would block the projectiles they fired. Not even Elder Spyro knew exactly how they functioned.

'How did they…' Was all he had time to think before the bloodbath began. Those unlucky enough to be in the tavern were filled with holes, splinters of wood and spurts of blood shot across the tavern and covered the floor and walls. Psy hadn't seen this kind of carnage since the war, and couldn't believe this kind of thing was happening in Warfang, a supposedly safe refuge for all creatures wanting to live their own life. After it was all over, he saw the assailants walk across the corpses and over to the bar as the old mole raised his club to them, but was quickly disarmed. They dragged both him and Sharia to the door and made then face the carnage, and threw them to their knees. He was distracted by the scene enough to weaken his concentration and let Sharias psyche out of her prison. He heard footsteps and turned in time to see razor sharp claws heading right to his neck. They made contact and Psy was shocked to feel the pain of her attack. He quickly put his hand over his wound and felt a large amount of warm liquid spilling between his fingers with each heartbeat. His concentration completely broken, he looked back to Sharia's psyche in shock as a solid fist connected with his right eye socket, sending him onto the bloodied floor as the scene around him faded.

'Am I dying?' He wondered as he still felt the sting on his face and the warmth of his spilled blood on his claws. He felt a falling sensation as his senses were completely smothered. No sound, no light, no smells taste or touch. Just total nothingness.

Puff sat in his large living room, rolling a mixture of green and purple shredded leaves up in a larger dried leaf. A certain mixture was just the ticket to relaxation after looking after Januz and his friends for a few weeks. He held the small rolled smoke-able and lit the end with his flame breath. He propped his feet up and took a long inhale, the smoke from the lit end curling and dancing in the air around his snout as he held in his hit for a few seconds before exhaling a column of white smoke. He could feel his muscles relax as he allowed his mind to wonder. His thoughts drifted back to his most recent assignment, and the fact that he had chosen to go against his boss. This brought him to a long withheld realization, that perhaps it was time he got out of the criminal business while he was ahead, and still in one piece. He raised the spliff to his mouth and drew upon it again, withdrawing it and tapping the ashes into a small container on the table in front of him.

He wondered if Januz and his friends were doing ok back at their school, and hoped that the girl he kidnapped had recovered from the slaughter she witnessed. It was then that Puff heard the assembly bells toll throughout the city. They were only rung when the governor had an announcement, so he assumed that was the reason. He put out his smoke and walked to the window, still feeling quite lucid from his two drags, as this sort of activity wasn't an everyday thing for him. He saw a crowd of manweresmalls and dragons gathering at a park below his apartment. He opened the window and glided down to the back of the crowd to hear the announcement. A small manweresmall with a blue armband (signifying his employment with the city government) stood on a box as he opened the scroll tucked under his right arm.

"Attention citizens of Warfang! I bring you an address from your Governor Marchino." the mole cleared his throat and began reading. "My fellow citizens, no doubt some weeks ago you were awoken in the night by strange sounds, sounds that may have frightened some. But I assure you, these sounds were the sound of your police force executing arrest warrants on the criminals that make this city unsafe at night! Our governor has secured for the good of our people, weapons that take the power out of the hands of criminals, and puts it into the hands of your government! No longer will you need fear the shadows in the alleyways or the thugs in the shady taverns! More than 500 criminals were rounded up the night of the great purge, and it sends a clear message to those still out there, that crime will not be tolerated in our fair city!" The manweresmall concluded, rolled up the scroll and disappeared into the crowd as most of those there talked amongst themselves at the news that criminals had been taken off the streets. The mood was generally positive as no one knew what had actually happened. In truth, the actions of that night were merely a test to see how well the 'new weapons' operated. Puff saw first hand that they were lethally efficient.

**I'm gonna end this chap by saying this fic may be my longest yet. all the others I had an idea when they would end. this one is just gonna go until i decide it has ended!**


	12. Chapter 12 Crime and Punishment

**CHAPTER 12-CRIME AND PUNISHMENT**

Spyro was a mental wreck. He had roughly two thousand young dragons under his direction, and on top of that, fewer dragons were enrolling and some parents even removing their children now that word of Sharia's kidnapping had taken place right under his snout. He sat behind his desk and stared at the empty glass case where Austins pistol had been. He still had no idea where it could be, or the identity of the dragon who stole it. But he had at least gotten his stolen student back in one piece. Physically anyway.

Her mental state seemed fine, and Snows examination of her didnt reveal any signs of physical abuse, but she had to have experienced something traumatic during her time in Warfang. What he couldn't begin to guess was what it could have been. She refused to talk to anyone about it, which only further frustrated him. His gaze drifted back to the other artifacts from the war against Malefor. Avalar and its adjacent realms had seen an explosion of progress and growth since the fall of the dark dragon. His armies no longer threatened the blossoming of free societies. Sentient beings began civilizing themselves in droves, the cheetahs, the unicorns, the manweresmalls and numerous other mystical creatures all established villages, cities, and in some cases even empires. Spyro was new to political relations with other species now that they have all come out of hiding, but there was no need for him to do so since all he did was run a school for young dragons. His race was pretty far flung, with no centralized leader or government, but there wasn't really a need for one, as the only wars that ever flared up were usually quickly resolved, as some species armies dwarfed others. Their leaders knew the foolishness of war, and the cost in lives that came with it. The war against Malefor had only ended a short few decades ago, and the horrors of combat were still relatively fresh in those who lived through it. His thoughts were interrupted as Cynder burst into his study with Cloud behind her nearly in tears.

He recognized her expression of worry and instantly stood from his chair before she spoke.

"Whats wrong?"

"Its Psy, Snow found him unconscious in Sharias room!" she said urgently.

"What? Is he ok?" He asked.

"He's in the room across from hers, Sharia said mentioned astral...something, I cant remember what she called it, we can ask her when we get there!"

"Mom is Psy gonna be ok?" Cloud asked with genuine worry in his voice.

"Yes sweetie, I'm sure he is going to be alright." She said scooping him onto her back as she and his dad raced out of their home and flew towards the medical wing.

Cloud held tightly to his mothers neck as he felt his thoughts drift to his brother. They fought almost constantly, but deep down he looked up to him. What could have happened to him in there? What if that Sharia girl he was trying to rescue hurt him somehow? He felt anger rise inside him as the stones on his necklace began to dimly glow. Before he knew it they were on the ground outside the hospital wing of the temple. He followed his parents into the hospital as fast as his short legs could take him while still keeping up with his parents. After a few twists and turns in the sterile hallways, they came to Snow standing outside his room seemingly waiting on them to arrive.

"How is he?" Spyro asked.

"He's stable now, but still unconscious. When I found him, he was near death. He barely had enough energy to breathe. It took an emergency energy transfusion to keep his heart going. We actually had to feed him a red crystal to get the energy to him fast enough to be effective. Before you see him, you might want to ask Sharia what happened. She tried to explain it to me but I had no idea what she was talking about. Maybe you two could make more sense of it." She said softly.

Spyro nodded and put his claw on Clouds shoulder and said

"Go in there and stay with your brother, your mother and I have to talk to Psy's friend." He said as Snow took Clouds claw and led him into the room.

Spyro opened the door and saw Sharia gently crying, though not sobbing or making much noise.

She looked up her visitors and then back down at the sheets covering her.

"Sharia. I'm not here to punish you, I just want to know what happened." He said gently standing beside her, Cynder taking a position beside him.

She bit her lip as she steeled herself to tell elder Spyro what had happened to his son.

"He...he said he could find out what happened to me...I wanted to tell you when you and the other elders would ask me, I swear! But I must have repressed it! I couldn't recall anything, and he said he could retrieve the memory through something called..." She furrowed her brow as she tried to remember the words Psy had used to describe what he did.

"Astral projection. He said he and his friends had researched how to do it. I went to sleep, and when I woke up, he was on his back, and Eldess Snow was telling the nurses to get her energy crystals." She finished, her tears still silently flowing.

"If I just could have remembered them on my own, this never would have happened! I didn't mean for Psy to get hurt, I just wanted to tell you what you wanted to know!" She pled with Spyro as he took in all that was revealed to him. The elder dragon closed his eyes and sighed, then opened them.

"It's not your fault Sharia. I understand you wanting to help us catch whoever kidnapped you. If thats all you know, then I'll leave you to get some rest." Spyro said as he turned to leave, Cynder already half way out the door.

"Elder Spyro..." She said softly as he turned back to her.

"Yes?"

"I...I remember something." She stammered, trying to dry her eyes with her blanket.

"What is it?" He asked turning to face her.

"My captors released me...and after they did, they just left me in an alley. I had barely eaten during my time captured, and I smelled food nearby, so I walked a few blocks to where it was coming from. A nice old manweresmall gave me some food, but after I ate, a few more manweresmalls burst in." She said, she was visibly shaking as she recounted what Psy had managed to bring to the surface of her memory during his brief time in her mind.

"T-then...they held these...things in their hands..." She said now reliving the horror for a second time.

"They made such a loud noise...and they killed...they killed everyone in the tavern!" She said completely breaking down and sobbing into her knees, the blanket covering them slowly absorbing her tears.

It didnt take long for Spyro to connect the missing artifact to what she had witnessed. Whoever stole Austins gun, had somehow figured out a way to make more of them, and apparently ones small enough for manweresmalls to operate, which clearly did nothing to make them less deadly.

He stroked Sharias head reassuringly as she continued to sob, looking up at him from her knees as her eyes were somewhat puffy from crying.

"You've done well Sharia. Just get some rest, and try to eat something. You've been through more than anyone your age should have to go through. We'll find those responsible, I promise you." He said as he turned and left with Cynder and then entered Psy's room, where Cloud, Januz and Zyrnoth were all sitting around Psy's bed. His head was bandaged and a few clear crystals were on the table beside him, having been used up of their energy.

Cynder walked to her sons bedside and took his hand, while Spyro looked to his friends.

"So boys, which one of you wants to tell me what Astral projection is? Or, why you thought it would be a good idea." He said sternly.

Both Zyrnoth and Januz looked at each other and swallowed in apprehension.

"J-Januz, I think you should field this one..." Zyrnoth said nervously, the both of them knowing punishment was inescapable this time.

"Well...Its projecting yourself into someone else's mind...to see their memories or to...alter or erase them..." He said with a I-know-I'm-in-trouble-but-if-smile-I-might-not-seem-so-guilty, grin.

Spyro was not amused, but wasn't angry either.

"And what, may I ask were you trying to accomplish by gallivanting into Ms. Sharias mind?"

Zyrnoth looked to his friend, and knew the truth was going to come out. 'I guess I'll at least be strong by the time Elder Spyro gets done training us into the ground...' he thought.

"We were trying to erase her memory of my uncle Puff rescuing her...we didn't actually save her...he did." He admitted, waiting tensely for Elder Spyro's retribution.

Spyro put a his palm on his face and sighed.

"I know I've taught all of you better than that!" He snapped.

"If you had just told me the truth from the get go, we wouldn't be in this situation. If there is one thing that destroys a dragons trust, it's lying." Spyro said.

"Now we will discuss punishment later, right now I want to know where you got such an idea as to try and perform this...astral projecting."

"Well...I don't want to point claws or anything...but Psy came to us with it. It's astral _projection_ by the way." Januz said, then immediately regretted correcting the person who held their fate in his claws, receiving an elbow from Zyrnoth.

Spyro's attention was drawn to Psy as he began to stir in his bed. He opened his eyes and saw his mom and brother leaning over him.

"Oh Psy! Thank the ancestors you're okay! Cynder said hugging him tightly.

"What happened? I have, the _worst_ headache..." He said putting a palm on his bandaged head.

"Well you should, you hit your head on the floor pretty hard." Snow said entering the room to check his bandages.

He saw Spyro standing at the foot of his bed, and then realized how much trouble he and his friends were in.

"Oh boy." He said seeing his father.

"Oh boy is right! What the heck were you thinking Psy?" Spyro demanded.

"We didnt want to get in trouble for running off to find Sharia, and we figured if we didnt come back with her, you'd punish us!" He pled with his dad.

"Well you're right, I will be punishing the three of you! But not for running off. For lying to me about who rescued her." He said sternly as Cloud giggled behind him.

"I dont know what you're laughing about mister, you are in just as much trouble." He said, which quickly wiped the smile off his younger brother's face.

"Aw what? You said they werent in trouble for running away! I didnt lie to you!"

"Yes, but you are way too young to be running off like that! You nearly scared your mother and I half to death!" Spyro said as he walked to the side of Psy's bed.

"Get some rest. Elder Flame will be here tomorrow to deliver the assignments you missed while you were gone." his father said as Snow shooed them all out of the room, as visiting hours were drawing to a close. Psy could hear his little brother trying to bargain with his dad all the way down the hallway.

Psy couldn't believe it. Three weeks of schoolwork? This had to qualify as cruel and unusual punishment.

He folded his arms sat back on his bed, which had about four pillows on it allowing him to sit up. He was about to try and get some sleep when he remembered Sharia could communicate with him telepathically! He just hoped he was still awake.

'Hey Sharia...you still up?'

'Yeah...I'm sorry about what happened Psy...'

'Its not your fault, I guess I wasn't as good at astral projection as I thought...'

'Yeah, well you did retrieve those repressed memories...Though I cant say I'm glad to have them back... but you did what you said you would! You didn't see any embarrassing ones did you?'

'No...it actually didn't take me too long to find.'

'Well thats good. Why did you pass out?'

'I guess I didn't have a very good exit strategy...'

'What happened to you in there? Eldess Snow said you were nearly dead when she came in.'

There was a pause in their mental conversation before Psy answered.

'When you project yourself into someones head, their subconscious knows you don't belong there and tries to kick you out. But you can't fight the subconscious or you risk damaging whoever you projected into permanently. I outran yours for a while, but eventually she caught up with me and...kicked me out.'

'And onto the floor.' Sharia responded with a slight giggle.

'What did my subconscious look like?'

'It was pretty much just you...except...well your eyes were black. Thats how I knew it wasn't you, and to start running.' He said with a small nervous laugh. The truth was that thing scared him pretty good.

'Sounds creepy.'

'You have no idea.'

'Alright Psy, it was nice talking to you, but I'm going back to sleep. Goodnight!'

'Night Sharia.'

XXX

Marchino sat in his office with about fifteen rather large (by manweresmall standards) moles standing in front of him.

"You all have your targets. Make sure you are not seen by anyone, and if you are, eliminate anyone you even think may have gotten a good look at you. Understand? You are to wait one week from this day, then you carry out the attacks. Spare no one, this has to be the most brutal domestic attack in Warfang history in order to get the backing of the populace. Is this clear?"

The lead Manweresmall with an eyepatch saluted and responded with a gruff "Yes sir."

"Dismissed."

**Trouble is a brewing! I know people are reading this, I've got a traffic counter! Tell me you like it! tell me you hate it!(although if you hate it, why are you reading it?) Just say something about it, its been 3 new chaps and no one is telling me what they think! cant get better without feedback folks! end rant.**


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